JP4632063B2 - Cooling mechanism, module cooling method and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling mechanism, a module cooling method, and a cooling control program for heat generation of a module installed in an electronic apparatus, and more particularly to a cooling mechanism, a module cooling method, and a cooling control program for cooling a module using a cooling fan.

  An internal module of an electronic device generates heat due to power loss, but an abnormal operation or failure occurs when the temperature is high. Therefore, a normal electronic device is equipped with a cooling mechanism for operating the module normally.

  A conventional technique for cooling an internal module of an electronic device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a cooling fan control mechanism in the conventional electronic device 4. The controller 44 is connected to temperature sensors 57 to 60 that detect the temperatures of the modules 47 to 50, respectively, and monitors the temperatures of the modules 47 to 50. When the temperature value of any of the modules 47 to 50 exceeds the set temperature, that is, when a temperature abnormality has occurred in any of the modules 47 to 50, the controller 44 sets the cooling fan 41A corresponding to the module exhibiting the temperature abnormality. , 41B, 41C, the speed control signal is made valid, and the rotation speed of the corresponding cooling fan is increased to cool the module showing the temperature abnormality.

  However, such a conventional cooling fan control mechanism has a disadvantage that the cooling fan rotates at a high speed when a temperature abnormality is detected, resulting in an increase in noise of the cooling fan and an increase in power consumption.

  Related techniques in view of this are disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 provides a fin for adjusting the direction of the cooling air and an angle adjusting member for adjusting the angle of the fin, thereby efficiently cooling the package in the housing even with a cooling fan with a small air volume. This makes it possible to use a low-noise cooling fan. In Patent Document 2, the cooling fan direction is changed to adjust the direction of the cooling air, and the air volume from the cooling fan is adjusted using a louver to improve the cooling efficiency while suppressing the noise from the cooling fan. An apparatus that enables it is disclosed.

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 can adjust the wind direction according to the heat generation amount of each package in the housing by adjusting the angle of the fin, but it is necessary to manually adjust the angle of the fin. There was a problem that it was not possible to cope with the case where the heat generating portion changed depending on the operation content of the device. In the case of the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the direction and amount of cooling air are adjusted based on the operation mode and the temperature of each device (hereinafter referred to as a module). Yes.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-1209797 JP 2007-19236 A

  However, in the related technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, the orientation of each module and the corresponding cooling fan is stored in advance in the fan angle storage unit, and the module that needs to be cooled is based on this stored information. On the other hand, since the direction of the cooling fan is adjusted, the direction of the cooling fan can be set only within a range stored in advance in the fan angle storage unit, and the direction of the cooling air is limited.

  Since the load conditions during operation vary in various ways, the adjustment of the wind direction only in a limited range as in Patent Document 2 may not be able to cope with the problem, resulting in the generation of an unstable operation module. was there.

  Accordingly, the present invention has an object to provide a cooling mechanism that improves the disadvantages of the above-described prior art and flexibly executes temperature adjustment of a module mounted on an electronic device in response to a change in load conditions. To do.

In order to achieve the above object, a cooling mechanism of the present invention includes a cooling fan that outputs cooling air to a plurality of modules mounted on an electronic device, wind direction guide means that variably sets the wind direction of the cooling air, and The temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of each module individually, and the operation of the wind direction guide means so that each temperature value detected by this temperature detection means is monitored and all the detected temperature values become the same value. and a controller for controlling the, this controller, the specified temperature value a target on the basis of a preset reference from a plurality of temperature values detected in the temperature detecting means, corresponding to the target temperature value this particular reading from a pre-mounted information storage unit operating status information of Tagged the wind direction guide means, cooling machine having a function of controlling the operation of the wind direction guide means on the basis of the information A is the controller, the correspondence the operation state information indicating the operating state of the wind direction guide means when all of the temperature values detected in the temperature detecting means becomes the same value to the temperature value It is characterized by writing in the information storage unit .

The module cooling method of the present invention monitors the temperature of a plurality of modules mounted on an electronic device, determines whether or not the temperature values of all the modules are the same, and When the temperature values are not the same, a module cooling method for adjusting the operating state of the wind direction guide means for variably setting the wind direction of the cooling air blown to the module based on the temperature values of the plurality of modules , When the temperature values of all the modules are not the same, a target temperature value is specified based on a preset reference from the temperature values of the plurality of modules, and the wind direction associated with the specified target temperature value The operation state information of the guide means is read from the information storage unit, the operation of the wind direction guide means is controlled based on the information, and the temperature values of all the modules are the same. If it becomes the value, and wherein the Comco write operation state information indicating the operating state of the wind direction guide means when the in the information storage unit in association with the temperature value

Next, the cooling control program according to the present invention provides an electronic apparatus equipped with a plurality of modules, a cooling fan that outputs cooling air to each module, and air direction guide means that variably sets the air direction of the cooling air. When it is determined that the function of monitoring the temperature of a plurality of modules, the determination function of determining whether the temperature values of all the modules are the same value, and the temperature values of the modules are not the same, A target temperature value is specified from the temperature values of the plurality of modules based on a preset criterion, and the operation state information of the wind direction guide means associated with the specified target temperature value is stored in the information storage device. if being read that information, the airflow-direction adjustment function of controlling the operation of the wind direction guide means on the basis of the information, the temperature values of all modules If it becomes one value, that is performed the corresponding information writing function of writing the information storage device in association with information on the temperature value indicating the operating state of the wind direction guide means at that time to the computer Features.

According to the present invention , while monitoring the temperature of a plurality of modules in the electronic device, the direction of the cooling air is controlled so that all the temperature values become the same value, and the temperature of all the modules becomes the same. Since the relationship between the temperature value and the state of the wind direction guide means is stored, the state of the wind direction guide means can be learned in accordance with the load condition.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 according to the present embodiment includes modules 7, 8, 9, and 10 and cooling fans 11 </ b> A, 11 </ b> B, and 11 </ b> C that output cooling air to the modules 7 to 10. The fins 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F for variably setting the direction of the cooling air, the fin driving means 13A, 13B, and 13C for moving the fins 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F, and the module 7 To temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 as temperature detecting means for individually detecting the temperatures of 10 to 10, and fin driving means 13A, 13B, and 13C to control fins 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F. Setting information of the orientation of the controller 14 for adjusting the orientation and the fins 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D, 12E, and 12F An information storage unit 15 for storing a correspondence information that associates the temperature value and modules 7, 8, 9 and 10, is configured to include a cooling mechanism consisting of.

  The modules 7 to 10 are electronic components such as a microprocessor, a transformer, and a power supply circuit, for example. The modules 7 to 10 generate heat due to power loss. However, when the temperature becomes high, abnormal operation or failure occurs. Therefore, the electronic device 1 of the present embodiment is equipped with the cooling mechanism having the above-described configuration in order to operate the modules 7 to 10 normally.

  Here, the electronic device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes four modules 7, 8, 9, and 10, but is not limited thereto, and is equipped with a plurality of modules, and a temperature sensor is provided for each module. Any configuration may be used.

  The cooling fans 11A to 11C blow cooling air to the modules 7 to 10. Each of the fins 12A to 12F is configured to move individually, and has a function of determining the course of the cooling air output from the cooling fans 11A to 11C. The fin driving means 13A to 13C drive the fins 12A to 12F according to a control signal from the controller 14.

  Here, the electronic apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes the three cooling fans 11A to 11C, but is not limited thereto, and may include one or more cooling fans. Moreover, although 6 fins 12A-12F are provided, it is not restricted to this, You may provide 6 or more fins.

  The controller 14 monitors the temperatures of the modules 7 to 10 detected by the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19 and 20, and sets the angles of the fins 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> F so that all detected temperature values become the same value. It has a function to control.

  Specifically, the controller 14 inputs the temperature values of the modules 7 to 10 from the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, 20, and whether or not the temperature values from the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, 20 are the same value. If they are not the same, a target temperature is specified from these temperature values based on a preset criterion, and angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the specified temperature is stored in the information storage unit 15. Search whether or not. Here, the target temperature is a temperature value targeted as the same value in controlling all the temperatures to the same value. For example, the average may be calculated from each detected temperature value, and the average value may be set as a target temperature, or the target temperature is selected from the detected temperature values that are closest to the set value. It may be a value.

  When the corresponding data is stored in the information storage unit 15, the data is read and a control signal indicating the driving amount corresponding to the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F is output to the fin driving means 13A to 13C. Thereby, since it is not necessary to calculate the adjustment amount for each of the fins 12A to 12F, it is possible to quickly adjust the wind direction.

  When the corresponding data is not stored in the information storage unit 15, the set angles of the fins 12A to 12F that make all the temperatures the same based on the temperature values from the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 And a control signal indicating a driving amount corresponding to the determined angles of the fins 12A to 12F is output to the fin driving means 13A to 13C. For example, the angle of the fins 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> F is set such that the angle of the fin that guides the wind in the direction of the module lower than the reference is set to the angle that guides the wind to the high-temperature module. Thereby, temperature can be made uniform in steps, adjusting the angle of fin 12A-12F finely.

  On the other hand, when the temperature values of the modules 7 to 10 are the same value, the temperature values and the angles of the fins 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> F are associated and written to the information storage unit 15. Thus, by recording the relationship between the temperature value and the direction of the fins 12A to 12F, the optimum direction of the fins 12A to 12F in accordance with the load condition is learned, and the temperature adjustment is performed flexibly and quickly. be able to.

  In addition, before determining whether or not the temperature values from the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 are the same value, the controller 14 includes a value that is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value among the plurality of temperature values. If there is a temperature value equal to or higher than the threshold value, the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the module that detected the temperature equal to or higher than the threshold value is read from the information storage unit 15, and the fins 12A to 12A are read. A control signal indicating a driving amount corresponding to the angle data of 12F is output to the fin driving means 13A to 13C. Thereby, the angle of fin 12A-12F can be controlled so that the airflow to the module which detected temperature abnormality increases.

  The information storage unit 15 stores the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the modules 7 to 10 and the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the temperature values. The angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the modules 7 to 10 is data indicating the orientation of the fins 12A to 12F when the associated modules are cooled in a concentrated manner. The angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the temperature value is data indicating the orientation of the fins 12A to 12F when the temperature values of all the modules 7 to 10 are associated with each other. The angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the temperature value is sequentially written by the controller 14 during operation.

  Here, the controller 14 in the present embodiment may be configured such that the function content is programmed and executed by a computer.

  Next, the operation of the cooling mechanism of this embodiment will be described. Here, since the following description of the operation is an embodiment of the module cooling method of the present invention, each step of the module cooling method is shown along with a description of the corresponding operation.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the controller 14 in the present embodiment. First, the temperature values detected by the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 are read to check the temperatures of the modules 7 to 10 (step S101 in FIG. 2, temperature detection step). Each temperature value is compared with a threshold value to detect a temperature abnormality (step S102 in FIG. 2, threshold value determining step).

  When a temperature abnormality is detected, the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the cooling of the temperature abnormality module in a concentrated manner is read from the information storage unit 15 (step S103 in FIG. 2). For example, when the temperature value of the module 7 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the data associated with the module 7 is read from the information storage unit 15.

  A control signal indicating the driving amount based on the read angle data is output to the fin driving means 13A to 13C (step S104 in FIG. 2, high temperature module cooling step). And fin drive means 13A-13C receives the control signal from controller 14, and drives fin 12A-12F. As a result, the angles of the fins 12A to 12F can be controlled so that the airflow to the module in which the temperature abnormality is detected is increased, and the module that is suddenly in the abnormal temperature state can be rapidly cooled.

  For example, when the module 10 is in an abnormal temperature state, the fins 12A to 12F are controlled to an angle as shown in FIG. 3 to concentrate cooling air on the module 10 and rapidly cool the module 10 in the abnormal temperature state. .

  Then, after changing the setting of the fins 12A to 12F, the temperature value is read from the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 and compared with the threshold value. When the temperature abnormality is detected again, the reading of the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the module of the temperature abnormality is executed again, and the adjustment of the direction of the fins 12A to 12F is repeated.

  On the other hand, if no temperature abnormality is detected, the temperature values of the modules 7 to 10 are confirmed, and it is determined whether or not all the temperature values are the same (step S105 in FIG. 2, determination step). . If they are not the same, a target temperature value is specified based on the detected temperature value (step S106 in FIG. 2). It is searched whether or not the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the specified temperature value is stored in the information storage unit 15 (step S107 in FIG. 2).

  If stored, the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F associated with the specified temperature value is read from the information storage unit 15 (step S108 in FIG. 2), and a control signal based on the angle data is input to the fin driving means 13A to 13A. 13C (step S104 in FIG. 2, wind direction adjustment step). When correspondence data relating to the specified temperature value is not stored, the setting angles of the fins 12A to 12F are finely adjusted based on the detected temperature values (step S109 in FIG. 2), and based on the setting angle data A control signal is output to the fin drive means 13A-13C (step S104 of FIG. 2, wind direction adjustment step). The adjustment of the fin direction and the confirmation of the temperature value are repeated until all detected temperature values become the same value.

  When the temperature detected by the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 is confirmed to be the same, all the temperature values detected by the temperature sensors 17, 18, 19, and 20 are confirmed. The angles of the hourly fins 12A to 12F and the temperature values are associated with each other and stored in the information storage unit 15 (step S110 in FIG. 2, corresponding information writing step). By repeating this, the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the temperature is accumulated. As described above, the state of the fins 12A to 12F when all the temperatures have settled to the same value is recorded together with the temperature value, thereby accumulating data on the optimal orientation of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the temperature state. be able to.

  As described above, the cooling mechanism according to the present embodiment records and accumulates the result of the relationship between the temperature value and the fin angle at the time when the temperatures of the plurality of modules settled to the same value, so Therefore, the module temperature can be adjusted flexibly according to the load condition.

  Furthermore, since the cooling mechanism of the present embodiment adjusts the direction of the cooling air so that the temperature of all the modules becomes the same value, the temperature adjustment of a plurality of modules can be stably performed according to the overall temperature situation. It can be carried out.

  Further, the cooling mechanism of the present embodiment is equipped with fins 12A to 12F as wind direction guide means for controlling the direction of the cooling air, and adjusts the temperature of the module by changing the air direction. Therefore, the rotational speed of the cooling fans 11A to 11C is adjusted. The cooling efficiency is improved without increasing the noise, and the noise and power consumption by the cooling fan can be reduced.

  Here, in this embodiment, the fins 12A to 12F are used as the wind direction guide means for controlling the wind direction of the cooling air. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a motor for moving the direction of the cooling fans 11A to 11C is used as the wind direction guide means. It may be used as

  Moreover, in this embodiment, when the angle data of the fins 12A to 12F corresponding to the target temperature value are not stored in the information storage unit 15, the fins 12A to 12F are detected based on the detected temperature values. Although the set angle is finely adjusted (step S109 in FIG. 2), the condition for starting the fine adjustment of the fin angle is not limited to this. For example, the temperature value closest to the target temperature value from the information storage unit 15 is set. When the angle data of the corresponding fins 12A to 12F is read and the fins 12A to 12F are controlled and the temperatures of the modules 7 to 10 are not uniform, fine adjustment of the fin angle until a temperature equal to or higher than the threshold is detected. When a module that has reached a temperature equal to or higher than the threshold is cooled to a temperature lower than the threshold, the information corresponding to the temperature value closest to the target temperature value is again stored from the information storage unit 15. It may be configured to control the fins 12A-12F reads angle data of emissions 12A-12F.

It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment concerning this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of embodiment disclosed in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example at the time of detecting the module of temperature abnormality in embodiment disclosed in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of conventional embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electronic device 7-10 Module 11A, 11B, 11C Cooling fan 12A-12F Fin 13A-13C Fin drive means 14 Controller 15 Information storage part 17, 18, 19, 20 Temperature sensor

Claims (11)

A cooling fan that outputs cooling air to a plurality of modules mounted on the electronic device, wind direction guide means for variably setting the air direction of the cooling air, temperature detection means for individually detecting the temperature of each module , and a controller all temperature values monitored by the detecting the respective temperature value detected in the temperature detecting means to control the operation of the wind direction guide means so that the same value, the controller, the temperature A target temperature value is specified from a plurality of temperature values detected by the detection means based on a preset criterion, and operating state information of the wind direction guide means associated with the specified target temperature value is provided in advance. In the cooling mechanism having a function of reading from the information storage unit and controlling the operation of the wind direction guide means based on the information ,
The controller stores operation state information indicating an operation state of the wind direction guide unit when all the temperature values detected by the temperature detection unit become the same value in the information storage unit in association with the temperature value. A cooling mechanism characterized by writing . The cooling mechanism according to claim 1,
The cooling mechanism, wherein the controller calculates an average from each temperature value detected by the temperature detection means, and specifies the average value as the target temperature value. The cooling mechanism according to claim 2, wherein
The controller monitors the temperature value detected by the temperature detection means, reads out the operation state information of the wind direction guide means corresponding to the module having a temperature equal to or higher than a preset threshold value from the information storage unit, and stores the information in the information. And a cooling mechanism for controlling the operation of the airflow direction guide unit. The cooling mechanism according to claim 3,
The cooling mechanism characterized in that the wind direction guide means is a movable fin installed on the exhaust side of the cooling fan, and the controller controls the direction of the fin. The cooling mechanism according to claim 4,
The wind direction guide means is a plurality of movable fins, and the controller individually controls the operations of the plurality of fins according to the temperature value detected by the temperature detection means. mechanism. The temperature of a plurality of modules mounted on the electronic device is monitored, it is determined whether or not the temperature values of all the modules are the same, and if the temperature values of all the modules are not the same, In the module cooling method for adjusting the operating state of the airflow direction guide means for variably setting the airflow direction of the cooling air blown to the module based on the temperature values of the plurality of modules ,
When the temperature values of all the modules are not the same, a target temperature value is specified based on a preset reference from the temperature values of the plurality of modules, and the wind direction associated with the specified target temperature value Read the operation state information of the guide means from the information storage unit, based on the information to control the operation of the wind direction guide means,
When the temperature value of all the modules become the same value, the Comco write operation state information indicating the operating state of the wind direction guide means when the in the information storage unit in association with the temperature value A module cooling method. The module cooling method according to claim 6, wherein
The module cooling method , wherein the target temperature value specified for adjusting the operating state of the wind direction guide means is an average value of temperature values of the plurality of modules . The module cooling method according to claim 7, wherein
It is determined whether or not the temperature value of each module is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, and when there is a temperature value equal to or higher than the threshold value, the wind direction guide associated with the module having a temperature equal to or higher than the threshold value It reads the operation state information means from the information storage unit, module cooling wherein the benzalkonium adjust the operation of the wind direction guide means on the basis of that information. A function of monitoring the temperature of the plurality of modules in an electronic apparatus equipped with a plurality of modules, a cooling fan that outputs cooling air to each module, and a wind direction guide means that variably sets the air direction of the cooling air ;
A determination function for determining whether or not the temperature values of all the modules are the same value;
When it is determined that the temperature values of the modules are not the same, a target temperature value is specified based on a preset criterion from the temperature values of the plurality of modules, and is associated with the specified target temperature value A wind direction adjusting function for reading the information when the operation state information of the wind direction guide means is stored in an information storage device, and controlling the operation of the wind direction guide means based on the information ;
A correspondence information writing function for writing information indicating the operation state of the wind direction guide means at that time in the information storage device in association with the temperature value when the temperature values of all the modules become the same value; ,
A program for cooling control, which causes a computer to execute the above. In the cooling control program according to claim 9,
The cooling control program, wherein the wind direction adjusting function is a function of calculating an average from temperature values of the plurality of modules and specifying the average value as the target temperature value. In the cooling control program according to claim 10,
Corresponding to the temperature of the modules of the threshold or if the temperature value that was whether the determining threshold decision function or a preset threshold value or more values, temperature values above the threshold value of each module A cooling control program that causes the computer to execute a high-temperature module cooling function that reads out the operation state information of the wind direction guide means from the information storage unit and controls the operation of the wind direction guide means based on the information. .

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