JPH04172687A - Cooling mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an optical disk subsystem device, etc., from becoming unusable due to the lack of cooling air by monitoring the plugged-up state of a filter for cleaning cooling air fitted to the optical disk subsystem device, etc., based on the flow rate of the air led into the device. CONSTITUTION:When a filter 7 is plugged up with dust contained in air and the flow rate of cooling air passing through the filter 7 becomes less, a pressure is applied to a flap 8 closing an auxiliary air leading port 6b and, when the pressure becomes stronger than the force of a spring 10, the flap 8 rotates. As a result, the port 6b is opened and air is led into a device through an auxiliary filter 7a so as to supplement the insufficient amount of the cooling air. When the cooling air is supplemented, a projecting section 8a is moved to the position where the section 8a blocks the luminous flux of a photointerrupter 11. The photointerrupter 11 generates an electric signal due to the operations of the flap 8 and a display 12 displays the status of the port 6b through a controller 3. Therefore, it is displayed that the filter 7 has reached its usable limit and must be exchanged with another filter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cooling mechanism, and more particularly to a cooling mechanism for an optical disk subsystem device.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the cooling mechanism for this type of optical disk subsystem device uses a fan motor to introduce outside air into the device to prevent the device from rising in temperature. is a structure that is introduced into the device after passing through a filter installed at the inlet to remove dust in the air to prevent contamination inside the optical disk device, especially to prevent contamination of the lens of the optical head. It became.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The cooling mechanism of the conventional optical disk subsystem described above is
When used in a natural environment, the filter for purifying the introduced air becomes clogged due to the dust in the air, reducing the flow rate of introduced air, and when used for a long time, the cooling inside the device eventually decreases. If the air flow rate decreases to an insufficient level and the device becomes inoperable, it is necessary to replace the filter.The filter does not have a built-in function to monitor the air intake flow rate for cooling the device. There is an economic loss because the clogged state of the filter is not known and it must be replaced early, and also, especially when used in an environment with a lot of dust in the air, the filter becomes clogged early and becomes inoperable while the device is in operation. If this occurs, data may be destroyed, and the initial performance and reliability of the optical disk device cannot be maintained.

[Means to solve the problem]

The cooling mechanism of the present invention includes an air inlet for introducing cooling air into a housing, a fan provided inside the air inlet to blow the cooling air, and a fan provided closer to the air inlet than the fan. a filter that purifies the cooling air; an auxiliary inlet that opens the cooling air flow path between the filter and the fan to the outside of the housing; a flap that opens and closes the auxiliary inlet; a load means that closes the auxiliary inlet and opens the auxiliary inlet when a negative pressure exists in the cooling air flow path between the filter and the fan; and a second flap knob. and a display device that receives a signal from the detector and displays whether or not air is being normally introduced from the air inlet.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a partial sectional view of the auxiliary air inlet 6b and its surroundings shown in FIG. 1, and a partial sectional view of an abnormal state. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the electrical circuit of the embodiment shown in FIG.

First, the configuration of the optical disk subsystem device of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

An optical disk device 2 that uses the optical disk medium 1 to read and write information, and a control bag W3 that controls the optical disk device W2.
A power supply device 4 for driving the system, and a fan motor 5 for feeding external air to prevent the temperature of the entire subsystem from rising are housed in the subsystem housing 6. The filter 7 for purifying the external air is installed opposite the air inlet 6a provided at the rear of the subsystem housing 6.
It is attached to cover a.

An auxiliary air inlet 6b is provided branching from the air flow path between the fan motor 5 and the filter 7, and can be rotated by a flap 8 or a support pin 9 to close or open the auxiliary air inlet 6b. A spring 10 is attached to the flap 8 and applies force so that the flap 8 closes the auxiliary air inlet 6b.The flap 8 is provided with a protrusion 8a. When the flap 8 rotates, the flap 8 is activated by the photo interrupter 1.
A photo interrupter 11 is attached to block the light beam of the fan motor 5 and the auxiliary air inlet 6b.
An auxiliary filter 7a is provided in the space. A display 12 is attached to the surface of the subsystem housing 6, and whether the air introduced into the optical fiber system device through the air inlet 6a or the optical disk medium 1 provided on the entire surface of the subsystem housing 6 is detected. It has a structure in which it is discharged to the outside from the insertion port 6C.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained.

When the filter 7 is in a normal state when the device is in operation, the cooling air introduced into the device by the fan motor 5 passes through the filter 7 as shown in FIG.
The flap 8 closes the auxiliary air inlet 6b by the pressure of the spring 10, and the protrusion 8a has moved to a position where it does not block the light beam of the photointerrupter 11. or,
As shown in FIG. 3, when the filter 7 becomes clogged with air dust and the amount of air passing through the filter 7 decreases, pressure is applied to the flap 8 that closes the auxiliary air inlet 6b and the force of the spring 10 is applied. When the air is overcome, the flap 8 is rotated to open the auxiliary air inlet 6b, and air is introduced from the air inlet 6b, passes through the auxiliary filter 7a, and is sent into the device to supplement the insufficient cooling air.
The protrusion 8a moves to a position where it blocks the light beam from the photointerrupter 11. Due to the operation of this flap 8, the photointerrupter 11 generates an electric signal, which is displayed via the control device 3 by the electric circuit shown in FIG. The state of the filter 12 or the auxiliary inlet is displayed, the user is informed that the filter 7 has reached its usage limit, and the user is prompted to replace the filter 7.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention constantly monitors the clogging state of the cooling air purifying filter attached to the optical disk subsystem device etc. by the air flow rate introduced into the device. This not only prevents the optical disk subsystem from becoming unusable due to shortages, improves the reliability of the optical disk subsystem, etc., but also allows you to know when is the appropriate time to replace the cooling air purification filter. Therefore, unnecessary replacement of filters is eliminated, which has the effect of eliminating economic and time losses.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of one embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are partial sectional views of the auxiliary air inlet 6b shown in FIG. 1 and its surroundings during normal operation of the device, and A partial sectional view of an abnormal state, FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the electrical circuit of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1...! FIG. 1. Optical disk medium, 2. Optical disk device, 3.
Control device, 4...Power supply device, 5...Fan motor 6
...Subsystem housing, 6a...Air inlet, 6b
...Auxiliary air inlet, 6C...Insertion port, 7...Filter, 7a...Auxiliary filter, 8...Flap, 8
a.Protrusion, 9.Support pin, 10.Spring, 1.1.Photo interrupter, 12.Display device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An air inlet that introduces cooling air into the housing, a fan provided inside the air inlet to blow the cooling air, and a filter provided closer to the air inlet than the fan to purify the cooling air. an auxiliary inlet that opens the cooling air flow path between the filter and the fan to the outside of the housing; a flap that opens and closes the auxiliary inlet; and a flap that normally closes the auxiliary inlet. loading means for opening the auxiliary inlet when the inside of the cooling air flow path between the filter and the fan becomes negative pressure;
A cooling mechanism characterized by including a detector that detects the operation of the flap, and a display device that receives a signal from the detector and displays whether or not air is being normally introduced from the air inlet. .