Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a fan controller for an electronic system (e.g., a computer). More particularly, the invention relates to cascadable fan controllers in which a fault with one controller can be provided to the other controller without involvement of external controlling logic such as the system's host controller.
2. Background of the Invention
Many types of electronic equipment, such as computers, include one or more fans to move air through the equipment to thereby help cool the device. Some computers that use a large amount of power require a commensurate number of fans. It is not uncommon for some multiprocessor computers, for example, to include six or eight fans in one enclosure.
Each fan typically is driven by logic called a “fan controller.” Fan controller logic may be implemented as discrete logic on the main system board or as a separate integrated circuit on the system board. Early on, each fan controller was able to control only one fan. Thus, multiple fan controllers were included in a system in which multiple fans were needed. In these configurations, it was up to the host processor to control the operation of the various fans by communicating independently with each fan controller. For example, in a system which included two fans with one fan spinning and the other fan included for redundancy, if the operational fan failed and such failure was detected by the host processor, the host processor would have to direct the redundant fan through its controller to begin operation.
Although generally satisfactory, it may not always be possible for the host processor to control the operation of one fan controller based on a fault condition of another fan. The host processor, for example, may be non-functional. If the host processor is non-functional and the primary fan is not spinning or not spinning sufficiently, there will not be a way to activate the backup fan. In general, it is not always satisfactory to rely on the host processor for controlling the operation of the fan controllers in a system. A better methodology is needed.
The problems noted above are solved in large part by having multiple, cascadable fan controllers in an electronic system, such as a computer. The fan controllers each control one or more fans. Further, the controllers include signals connected between the controllers that transmit fault information from one fan controller to the other(s) without the involvement of the host processor. Further, the controllers of the preferred embodiment are capable of performing a “free wheeling” test in which idle fans are spun and tested. These and other advantages will become apparent upon reviewing the following disclosures.
For a detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular system components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, computer companies may refer to a component and sub-components by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components that differ in name but not function. In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . ”. Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to mean either a direct or indirect electrical connection. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections. In addition, no distinction is made between a “processor,” “microprocessor,” “microcontroller,” or “central processing unit” (“CPU”) for purposes of this disclosure. To the extent that any term is not specially defined in this specification, the intent is that the term is to be given its plain and ordinary meaning.
Referring now to
The system shown in
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the fan controllers 140a and 140b are connected together so as to provide a hardware-based fault response. That is, on a broad level, an error condition experienced by one fan controller or its fan(s) is transmitted to the other fan controller without the involvement of external controlling logic such as the host processor. This feature can be implemented in a variety of ways. For example, in
Preferably, the FAULT signal remains asserted even after the error condition subsides. The FAULT signal remains asserted until cleared by software executing on the host processor 102. The FAULT signal 136 may also be provided to the south bridge 130 as shown so that the host processor can be made aware of the existence of a fault condition. Also, each fan controller includes an interrupt output signal which preferably are wire-OR'd and provided to the south bridge 130 as shown. Alternatively, the interrupts can be individually connected to the south bridge 130 or other logic. The interrupt signal can be asserted by a controller upon any one or more of various predetermined or programmed conditions such as a fan that is hot plugged (insertion or removal) or a fault.
The fan controllers 140 preferably have one or more registers 142a and 142b that are used for programming and status purposes. The registers 142a, 142b include a plurality of bits some of which provide status information, and others of which can be used to control various aspects of the fan controller. Those bits that are useful for providing the inter-controller fault detection and control include:
Referring still to
As described herein, the preferred embodiment of the fan controllers permit the controllers to be cascaded together in such a fashion so as to permit faults to be detected and responded to without involvement of the host processor. It should be understood that each fan controller may contain a register which contains a value of the fan speed when fault information from another fan controller is received. The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20030121642 A1 | Jul 2003 | US |