JP2011257178A - Dust testing device and dust testing method for electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dust testing device and dust testing method for a electronic apparatus, whereby the adhering state of dust in the electronic apparatus used for a long time can be suitably reproduced.SOLUTION: The dust testing device for the electronic apparatus includes: a housing 11 in which dust D is sealed; a disposing table 13 for disposing the electronic apparatus 30 in the housing; a first blowing section 15 for blowing off the dust in the housing in a first period; and a second blowing section 17 for blowing off the dust, adhering to a vent hole 31 of the electronic apparatus, in a second period longer than the first period. By periodically blowing off the dust clogging the vent hole, a test can be continuously carried out while preventing the vent hole from being clogged completely in an early stage after the start of the test. Accordingly, the adhering state of the dust in the electronic apparatus after long use can be suitably reproduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a dust test apparatus and a dust test method for electronic equipment.

  Electronic devices such as personal computers are exposed to a large amount of dust under actual use conditions. If dust is clogged in a ventilation port such as an air inlet or an exhaust port provided in the electronic device, the original heat dissipation / cooling function of the electronic device may be deteriorated, which may hinder the operation of the electronic device. For this reason, in the development process of an electronic device or the like, usually, the operation state of the electronic device under actual use conditions is confirmed using a dust test apparatus.

  In the dust test, as described in Patent Document 1 below, an electronic device is placed in a case in which dust is sealed, the dust is scattered in the case, and the state of dust adhesion to the vent of the electronic device is observed. The Here, in the dust test, the dust material / shape / amount, the amount / pressure / direction, etc. of the dust are appropriately adjusted in order to appropriately reproduce the dust adhesion after a long period of use in a short test period. In the dust test, for example, the state of dust adhesion after 1 year or 2 years of use is reproduced in a test period of about 2 hours or 4 hours.

JP-A-8-292239

  However, if dust is only scattered in the housing, the vents will be completely clogged at an early stage after the start of the test, making it difficult to continue the test. There were cases where it was not possible.

  Therefore, the present invention is intended to provide a dust testing apparatus and a dust testing method for electronic equipment that can appropriately reproduce the state of dust adhesion in electronic equipment that has been used for a long time.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, a housing for enclosing dust, an arrangement table for arranging an electronic device in the housing, and a first for scattering dust in the housing at a first period There is provided a dust test apparatus for an electronic device, comprising: a blower unit; and a second blower unit for blowing off dust attached to a vent of the electronic device in a second cycle longer than the first cycle.

  The second air blowing unit may blow air toward the vent hole while changing the air blowing direction in the second period.

  The second air blowing section may change the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the vent.

  The first air blowing section may blow air toward the lower portion of the housing while changing the air blowing direction in the first cycle.

  The first air blowing section may change the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on a direction facing the lower portion of the housing.

  The lower part of the housing may be formed in a mortar shape.

  You may further provide the 3rd ventilation part distribute | arranged to the lower part of the said housing | casing, and ventilates periodically toward the upper part of a housing | casing.

  The second air blowing section may include a communication pipe that can rotate around an axis and a blow nozzle that is attached to the communication pipe.

  The first air blowing section may include a communication pipe that can rotate around an axis and a blow nozzle that is attached to the communication pipe.

  Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, the step of enclosing dust in the housing and disposing the electronic device, the step of scattering the dust in the housing in the first cycle, and a step longer than the first cycle A dust test method for an electronic device, the method including blowing off dust attached to a vent of the electronic device at a period of 2.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a dust test apparatus and a dust test method for an electronic device that can appropriately reproduce the state of dust adhesion in an electronic device that has been used for a long time.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the dust test apparatus for electronic devices which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a dust test method. It is a front view of a dust test apparatus. It is a side view of a dust test apparatus. It is a top view of a dust test device. It is a figure which shows the installation condition of an electronic device. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation | movement of a 1st ventilation part. It is a schematic diagram which shows operation | movement of a 2nd ventilation part.

  Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

[1. Outline of dust test apparatus and dust test method]
First, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the outline | summary of the dust test apparatus 10 and the dust test method of the electronic device 30 which concern on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the dust test apparatus 10, and FIG. 2 shows a procedure of the dust test method.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the dust test apparatus 10 includes a housing 11 for enclosing dust D, a placement table 13 for placing an electronic device 30 in the housing 11, and dust D in the housing 11. The 1st ventilation part 15 for scattering and the 2nd ventilation part 17 for blowing off the dust D adhering to the vent 31 of the electronic device 30 are provided. In FIG. 1, solid arrows indicate the operations of the first and second air blowing units 15 and 17 and the dust D, and broken arrows indicate the direction of air blowing. Further, FIG. 1 shows a part of the dust D in the housing 11 including the air holes 31.

  In the dust test apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, unlike the conventional dust test apparatus 10, the dust D is scattered in the housing 11 in the first period, and in the second period longer than the first period, The dust D adhering to the vent 31 is blown off. Here, the 1st and 2nd ventilation parts 15 and 17 consist of the communication pipes 15a and 17a which can rotate around an axis | shaft, and the ventilation nozzles 15b and 17b attached to the communication pipes 15a and 17a, for example (FIG. 3). Etc.).

  Accordingly, the dust D clogged in the vent 31 is periodically blown out so that the vent 31 is not completely clogged at an early stage after the start of the test, and the test can be continued. It is possible to appropriately reproduce the adhesion state of the later dust D.

  For example, the first air blower 15 blows air toward the lower portion of the housing 11 while changing the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the lower portion of the housing 11 in the first cycle. It is preferable. Thereby, the dust D deposited on the lower portion of the housing 11 is periodically scattered on the upper portion of the housing 11, so that the dust D can be attached to the vent hole 31 in a situation close to actual use conditions.

  It is preferable that the 2nd ventilation part 17 blows toward the ventilation hole 31, for example, changing a ventilation direction in the predetermined angle range centering on the direction which faces the ventilation hole 31 in a 2nd period. Thus, by periodically blowing off the dust D clogged in the vent 31, the clogging of the vent 31 can be prevented in a situation close to actual use conditions. This reproduces the behavior of the dust D once adhering to the vent 31 being peeled off by the action of wind pressure, vibration or the like.

  The lower portion (bottom member 12) of the housing 11 is preferably formed in a mortar shape. Further, it is preferable that a third blower 19 that periodically blows air toward the upper part of the housing 11 is arranged at the lower portion of the housing 11. Thereby, the dust D deposited on the lower part of the casing 11 is blown toward the mortar surface of the lower part of the casing 11 or blown toward the upper part from the lower part of the casing 11. It can be effectively diffused and scattered in the upper part.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the dust test includes a step S11 in which the dust D is enclosed in the housing 11 and the electronic device 30 is disposed, and a step S13 in which the dust D is scattered in the housing 11 in the first period. Step S15 is included in which dust D attached to the vent 31 of the electronic device 30 is blown off in a second period longer than the first period. Steps S13 and S15 are repeated until the test duration time elapses (S17). In addition, progress of test continuation time may be determined between step S13 and step S15.

  In step S13 in which dust D is scattered, for example, air is blown toward the lower portion of the housing 11 while changing the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the lower portion of the housing 11 in the first cycle. It is preferable to do. Moreover, in step S15 which blows off the dust D, for example, air is blown toward the air vent 31 while changing the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the air vent 31 in the second period. Is preferred.

[2. Configuration of Dust Test Device 10]
Next, the configuration of the electronic device 30 dust test apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. 3, 4, and 5 respectively show a front view, a side view, and a plan view of the dust test apparatus 10 (in FIG. 5, description of a control unit 23 that will be described later is omitted). . 3 to 5 show the electronic device 30 as an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the dust test apparatus 10 includes a housing 11, an arrangement table 13, a first air blowing unit 15, a second air blowing unit 17, a third air blowing unit 19, a air flow adjusting unit 21, A control unit 23 and an operation unit 24 are provided. The dust test apparatus 10 may be provided with a mechanism for controlling the temperature and humidity in the housing 11 in order to reproduce the change in the adhesion state of the dust D according to the change in the environmental conditions.

  The casing 11 is provided as an exterior for enclosing the dust D. The casing 11 is formed in a box shape, a cylindrical shape, or the like using a frame member 11a and a transparent or translucent cover member 11b.

  An opening / closing door 25 including a frame member 25a, a cover member 25b, and an opening / closing lock 25c is provided on one side surface of the housing 11. The open / close door 25 is opened when the electronic device 30 is arranged or when the dust test apparatus 10 is maintained and inspected, and is closed when the dust test is performed. A mortar-shaped bottom member 12 is provided at the lower part of the housing 11. The bottom member 12 may be formed by removing the top of the weight, or may be formed with the top of the weight. The casing 11 is installed on a floor surface or the like via a frame-like support structure 27. The support structure 27 is provided with an installation member 29 including a movable wheel and a stopper in order to install the dust test apparatus 10.

  The placement table 13 is provided for placing the electronic device 30 in the housing 11. The placement table 13 may be configured to place the electronic device 30 or may be configured to suspend the electronic device 30. In the example shown in the drawing, the arrangement table 13 is composed of four girder members that are arranged in the form of a cross girder on the four side surfaces of the housing 11 at a middle height of the housing 11. The arrangement table 13 is configured so as not to hinder the flow of dust D in the housing 11 in a mode suitable for the size, weight, and the like of the electronic device 30 to be arranged. In addition, the arrangement table 13 may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction in order to adjust the arrangement of the electronic device 30.

  The 1st ventilation part 15 is provided in order to disperse the dust D in the housing | casing 11 with a 1st period. The 1st ventilation part 15 may be comprised including the ventilation nozzle, and may be comprised including the ventilation fan. It is preferable that the 1st ventilation part 15 is comprised so that swing operation | movement is possible so that a ventilation direction may be changed. In the example shown in the drawing, the first air blower 15 includes four ventilation pipes 15 a that are arranged in a grid pattern on the four side surfaces of the casing 11 at a height immediately above the bottom member 12 of the casing 11, and each ventilation It is comprised by the ventilation nozzle 15b suspended 3 each at the pipe | tube 15a. 3 to 5 schematically show the arrangement of the air blowing nozzles 15b.

  In the 1st ventilation part 15, high pressure air is supplied to the ventilation pipe 15a from the air supply part (not shown) through the ventilation adjustment part 21, and is ventilated in the housing | casing 11 from the ventilation nozzle 15b. The ventilation pipe 15a is configured to be rotatable in the axial direction through a swing mechanism (not shown), and is a predetermined centered on the direction facing the lower portion of the casing 11 in the first period under the control of the control unit 23. The air is blown toward the lower portion of the housing 11 while changing the air blowing direction within the angle range.

  The 1st ventilation part 15 is the aspect suitable for the quantity and pressure of the ventilation | blower requested | required for a dust test, and is comprised so that the flow of the dust D in the housing | casing 11 may not be prevented. The first air blowing unit 15 may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction in order to adjust the air blowing conditions in the housing 11.

  The 2nd ventilation part 17 is provided in order to blow off the dust D adhering to the vent 31 of the electronic device 30 in the 2nd period. The 2nd ventilation part 17 may be comprised including the ventilation nozzle, and may be comprised including the ventilation fan. It is preferable that the 2nd ventilation part 17 is comprised so that swing operation | movement is possible so that a ventilation direction may be changed. In the example shown in the drawing, the second air blowing unit 17 includes one ventilation pipe 17a passed over two side surfaces of the housing 11 above the arrangement table 13, and three ventilation nozzles suspended from the ventilation pipe 17a. 17b. 3 to 5 schematically show the arrangement of the blower nozzles 17b.

  In the second blower unit 17, high-pressure air is supplied from the air supply unit (not shown) to the ventilation pipe 17 a through the blower adjustment unit 21 and blown into the housing 11 from the blower nozzle 17 b. The ventilation pipe 17a is configured to be rotatable in the axial direction through a swing mechanism (not shown), and has a predetermined angle centered on the direction facing the vent 31 in the second period under the control of the control unit 23. The air is blown toward the vent 31 while changing the blowing direction within the range.

  The 2nd ventilation part 17 is comprised in the aspect suitable for the quantity and pressure of the ventilation requested | required for a dust test so that the flow of the dust D in the housing | casing 11 may not be prevented. The second air blowing unit 17 may be configured to be movable in the vertical direction and / or the horizontal direction in order to adjust the air blowing conditions in the housing 11. Further, the second air blowing unit 17 may be provided below instead of above the arrangement table 13 according to the position of the vent 31 of the electronic device 30.

  Here, the first and second air blowers 15 and 17 blow air at a predetermined cycle, amount, pressure, and direction so as to appropriately reproduce the adhesion state of the dust D after long-term use in a predetermined test period. To do. The air blowing period, amount, pressure, and direction may be set as a constant value or a combination of a plurality of values for each of the air blowing units 15 and 17. Different air blowing conditions may be adjusted between the air blowing nozzles 15b of the first air blowing unit 15 or between the air blowing nozzles 17b of the first air blowing unit 17.

  The 3rd ventilation part 19 is provided in order to ventilate periodically toward the upper part from the lower part of the housing | casing 11. As shown in FIG. The 3rd ventilation part 19 may be comprised including a ventilation fan, and may be comprised including the ventilation nozzle. In the illustrated example, the third blower 19 is provided as a blower fan on the bottom surface of the bottom member 12 of the housing 11, but may be provided on an inclined surface of the bottom member 12. In addition, the 3rd ventilation part 19 does not necessarily need to be provided.

  The air supply adjustment unit 21 is under high pressure from the air supply unit (not shown) to the first and second air supply units 15 and 17 (including the third air supply unit 19 in some cases) under the control of the control unit 23. Adjust the air supply. The air supply adjusting unit 21 adjusts the supply amount and the supply pressure of the high-pressure air to perform air supply continuously, intermittently, or with a gentle and slow wind pressure.

  The control unit 23 performs arithmetic processing and control processing necessary for operating the dust test apparatus 10 as a whole, such as the first to third air blowing units 15, 17, and 19, the air flow adjusting unit 21, and the like. The control unit 23 is configured by hardware such as a circuit and / or software such as a program. The operation unit 24 includes an operation panel, various switches, and the like. In the operation unit 24, a user instruction for operating the dust test apparatus 10 is input to an operation panel, various switches, and the like.

[3. Operation of dust test apparatus 10]
Next, the operation of the dust test apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows the installation status of the electronic device 30 as a front view and a side view, and FIGS. 7 and 8 show the operations of the first and second air blowing units 15 and 17 respectively. Yes. 7 and 8, solid arrows indicate the operations of the first and second blowers 15 and 17 and dust D, and broken arrows indicate the direction of blowing.

  Hereinafter, a case where a notebook computer 30 (hereinafter also referred to as a notebook PC 30) is a test target will be described. Needless to say, the dust test apparatus 10 and the dust test method according to the present embodiment are similarly applied to the electronic device 30 other than the notebook PC 30.

  When performing the dust test, dust D having a predetermined material, shape, and amount is enclosed in the casing 11 with the open / close door 25 of the casing 11 being opened. Part of the encapsulated dust D floats inside the housing 11, and the other part accumulates in the lower part of the housing 11 such as the mortar-shaped bottom member 12 of the housing 11.

  Here, the specification of the dust D to be enclosed is based on the result of analysis of the dust D adhering to the intake port 31 of the same type or the same type of notebook PC 30 under actual use conditions. It is determined as appropriate so that the adhesion state can be appropriately reproduced. As the dust D, cotton having a length of about several millimeters, wool, cotton linter (short fibers growing at the roots of seeds from which cotton is removed from cotton) or the like is used alone or in combination.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when performing the dust test, the notebook PC 30 having the fan inlet 31 provided on the bottom surface is arranged on the arrangement table 13 with the door 25 being opened. The notebook PC 30 is arranged so that the air inlet 31 faces the air blowing nozzle 17 b of the second air blowing unit 17 in a state where the panel portion is slightly inclined with respect to the main body. Here, inside the main body of the notebook PC 30, the fan may be operating continuously or intermittently, and the fan may be stopped. In addition, enclosure of the dust D and arrangement | positioning of the notebook PC 30 may be performed in succession.

  When the enclosure of the dust D and the arrangement of the electronic device 30 are completed, the open / close door 25 is sealed, and setting of test conditions (such as test duration) and a user instruction for starting the test are input through the operation panel. And if a dust test is started, the 1st-3rd ventilation parts 15, 17, and 19 will start operation | movement.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the first air blowing unit 15 changes the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the lower part of the housing 11 in the first period, and lowers the lower part of the housing 11. Vent toward As a result, the dust D accumulated in the lower part of the casing 11 sweeps the lower part of the casing 11 and periodically scatters in the upper part. Moreover, the 1st ventilation part 15 ventilates toward the mortar surface of the bottom member 12 of the housing | casing 11, and the 3rd ventilation part 19 ventilates periodically toward the upper part from the lower part of the housing | casing 11. FIG. Thereby, the dust D deposited on the surface of the mortar is effectively diffused and scattered in the upper part of the housing 11 by the air blown by the second and third blowers 17 and 19.

  Then, the scattered dust D falls in the housing 11, a part of the dust D adheres to the intake port 31 of the notebook PC 30, the other part accumulates in the lower part of the housing 11, and the other part in the housing 11. While floating, the air blows again to the upper part of the housing 11 by air blowing. Thereby, the dust D can be made to adhere to the inlet port 31 in a situation close to actual use conditions.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the second air blowing unit 17 blows air toward the air inlet 31 while changing the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on the direction facing the air inlet 31 in the second period. To do. Thereby, the dust D clogged in the intake port 31 is periodically blown out from the intake port 31. In particular, by blowing air from a different direction with respect to the intake port 31, the dust D adhering to the intake port 31 and clogged can be effectively blown off.

  Then, the dust D blown off falls in the housing 11, a part of the dust D accumulates in the lower part of the housing 11, and the other part floats in the housing 11 and again returns to the upper part of the housing 11 by blowing air. Scatter. Thereby, by reproducing the situation where the dust D once attached to the intake port 31 is peeled off by the action of wind pressure, vibration, etc., it is possible to prevent the intake port 31 from being completely clogged in a situation close to actual use conditions. As a result, the test can be continued, and the state of adhesion of the dust D after long-term use can be appropriately reproduced.

  When the test duration time ends, the first to third air blowing units 15, 17, and 19 stop operating. When the dust D scatters, the open / close door 25 is opened, and the notebook PC 30 is taken out of the housing 11. And the adhesion state of the dust D with respect to the inlet 31 of notebook PC30 is confirmed.

[4. Summary]
As described above, according to the dust test apparatus 10 and the dust test method of the electronic device 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention, unlike the conventional dust test apparatus 10, dust is contained in the housing 11 at the first period. D is scattered and the dust D attached to the vent 31 is blown off in a second period longer than the first period. Accordingly, the dust D clogged in the vent 31 is periodically blown out so that the vent 31 is not completely clogged at an early stage after the start of the test, and the test can be continued. It is possible to appropriately reproduce the adhesion state of the later dust D.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Dust test apparatus 11 Housing | casing 13 Arrangement | positioning stand 15 1st ventilation part 17 2nd ventilation part 19 3rd ventilation part 30 Electronic device (notebook PC)
31 Vent (intake)
D dust

Claims (10)

A housing for enclosing dust,
An arrangement table for arranging electronic devices in the housing;
A first air blowing unit for scattering dust in the housing in a first period;
A dust test apparatus for an electronic device, comprising: a second air blowing unit for blowing off dust attached to the vent of the electronic device in a second cycle longer than the first cycle.   The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second blower blows air toward the vent hole while changing a blow direction in the second period.   The electronic device dust test apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second air blowing unit changes the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on a direction facing the vent.   2. The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first blower blows air toward a lower portion of the housing while changing a blow direction in the first cycle.   The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the first air blowing unit changes the air blowing direction within a predetermined angle range centering on a direction facing the lower portion of the housing.   The dust testing apparatus for electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein a lower part of the housing is formed in a mortar shape.   The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising a third air blowing section that is arranged at a lower portion of the housing and periodically blows air toward an upper portion of the housing.   2. The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the second air blowing unit includes a communication pipe rotatable around an axis and a blower nozzle attached to the communication pipe.   2. The dust test apparatus for an electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the first blower unit includes a communication pipe rotatable around an axis and a blower nozzle attached to the communication pipe. Enclosing dust in a housing and arranging electronic devices;
Scattering dust in the housing in a first period;
Blowing off dust adhering to the vent of the electronic device in a second period longer than the first period.

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