The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Applications JP 2005-231126 filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Aug. 9, 2005, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information-processing apparatus and a cooling system suitable for use in the information-processing apparatus. More particularly, it relates to a personal computer and a cooling system used therein.
2. Description of Related Art
A personal computer has recently improved its performance remarkably. Accompanied by such the improvement, a central processing unit (CPU) has particularly radiated a large amount of heat. Thus, the personal computer preferably has any cooling system for cooling it by radiating such a large amount of heat generated by CPU and the like rapidly outside housing that encloses the CPU, to keep its operation stable.
A high-performance computer, particularly, a desktop computer, which has a large amount of heat, has provided a heat sink, a heat pipe, a cooling fan or the like to force the CPU generating the largest amount of heat among the electronic parts in the computer to be directly cooled. In this case, to take outside air into an interior of the computer 10 to force the CPU to be cooled, a front panel of housing in the computer 10 has provided many openings 12 to take the outside air thereinto (see
The chassis 46 divides an interior space of the computer 20 into upper and lower chambers 48, 50. In the upper chamber 48 above the chassis 46, the first cooling fan 24, the heat sink 34, the heat pipe 36, the CPU 38 are provided near the first vent 42. The first cooling fan 24 takes outside air from the air intake opening 40 into the interior space of the computer 20 and forces the air to circulate, thereby exposing the heat sink 34 to the air. This enables the outside air to which the heat sink 34 is exposed to absorb any heat from the heat sink 34. The first cooling fan 24 exhausts this heat-absorbed air through the first vent 42 toward outside.
In the upper chamber 48, the third cooling fan 28 and the hard disk drives 30a, 30b, and 30c are provided opposite to the CPU 38.
In the lower chamber 50 below the chassis 46, the optical drive 22 is provided near holes 52 of the chassis 46. In the lower chamber 50, the second cooling fan 26 and the power unit 32 are provided near the second vent 44.
The third cooling fan 28 takes outside air from the air intake opening 40 into the interior space of the computer 20 and forces the air to circulate, thereby exposing the hard disk drives 30a, 30b, and 30c to the air. This enables the outside air to which the hard disk drives 30a, 30b, and 30c are exposed to absorb any heat from the hard disk drives 30a, 30b, and 30c. The third cooling fan 28 then forces the heat-absorbed air to circulate through the holes 52, thereby exposing the optical drive 22 to the air. This enables the air to which the optical drive 22 is exposed to absorb any heat further from the optical drive 22.
The second cooling fan 26 forces such the further heat-absorbed air to circulate, thereby exposing the power unit 32 to the air. This enables the air to which the power unit 32 is exposed to absorb any heat from the power unit 32. The second cooling fan 26 then exhausts this heat-absorbed air through the second vent 44 toward outside.
This allows the outside air taken from the air intake opening 40 into an interior space of the computer 20 to cool any electronic parts in the computer 20.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-42973 discloses a computer having such the cooling system. According to the cooling system used in this computer, a side ventilation fan is provided at a side of CPU to cool the CPU. The side ventilation fan creates a flat current of air and sends it to the CPU, thereby exposing the CPU into the air to cool the CPU. This allows the air to circulate smoothly inside the computer, thereby cooling the CPU efficiently.
However, since in such the cooling system used in the computer, the electronic parts such as CPU and hard disk drive radiating a large amount of heat are positioned away from the air intake opening of outside air, it is difficult to expose the electronic parts such as CPU and hard disk drive to the outside air efficiently. Further, in the cooling system disclosed by the above Japanese publication, since the side ventilation fan has a flat configuration to create a flat current of air, it is difficult to expose the CPU to thick current of air to cool it.
It is desirable to provide an information-processing apparatus and a cooling system suitable for use in the information-processing apparatus, in which the electronic parts can be efficiently cooled by means of, for example, exposing the electronic part to outside air to an extensive area thereof.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information-processing apparatus. The apparatus has housing enclosing at least one electronic part to be cooled and having at least one opening and a passage connecting the opening. The passage allows air to flow therein. The apparatus also has an air intake member having two air intake portions for separating the air flown in the passage through the opening into its first and second portions. The air intake member is arranged in the passage. The apparatus further has a first exhausting device that exposes the electronic part to the first portion of the air separated in the air take member and exhausts the first portion of the air to outside and a second exhausting device that exposes the electronic part to the second portion of the air separated in the air take member and exhausts the second portion of the air to outside. At least one air intake portion of the air intake member is positioned facing the electronic part.
In the embodiment of the information-processing apparatus, the air intake portion of the air intake member may be positioned adjacent to a predetermined surface to be cooled of the electronic part. Thus, it is possible to expose the electronic parts such as CPU and hard disk drive to the outside air to an extensive area thereof. Therefore, the electronic parts can be efficiently cooled.
This prevents the electronic parts used in the information-processing apparatus from raising a temperature thereof, so that the information-processing apparatus can avoid throughput thereof from dropping under a condition where raising a temperature therein.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cooling system for cooling electronic part, which is suitable for use in the information-processing apparatus. The cooling system has housing enclosing at least one electronic part to be cooled and having at least one opening and a passage connecting the opening. The passage allows air to flow therein. The cooling system also has an air intake member having two air intake portions for separating the air flown in the passage through the opening into its first and second portions. The air intake member is arranged in the passage. The cooling system a first exhausting device that exposes the electronic part to the first portion of the air separated in the air take member and exhausts the first portion of the air to outside, and a second exhausting device that exposes the electronic part to the second portion of the air separated in the air take member and exhausts the second portion of the air to outside. At least one air intake portion of the air intake member is positioned facing the electronic part.
In the embodiment of the cooling system, the air intake portion of the air intake member may be positioned adjacent to a predetermined surface to be cooled of the electronic part. Thus, it is possible to expose the electronic parts such as CPU and hard disk drive to the outside air to an extensive area thereof. Therefore, the electronic parts can be efficiently cooled.
This prevents the electronic parts from raising a temperature thereof, so that the information-processing apparatus such as a personal computer having such the cooling system for the electronic parts can avoid throughput thereof from dropping under a condition where raising a temperature in the electronic parts.
The concluding portion of this specification particularly points out and directly claims the subject matter of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will best understand both the organization and method of operation of the invention, together with further advantages and objects thereof, by reading the remaining portions of the specification in view of the accompanying drawing(s) wherein like reference characters refer to like elements.
The following will describe an information-processing apparatus and a cooling system use therein according to preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to drawings.
The computer 100 has a housing 101 that is composed of a front panel 102, side panels 103 having air intake openings 104, a rear panel 108, and top and bottom panels that are not shown. The front panel 102 includes a detachable member 105. For example, when a hard disk drive is installed into the computer 100, this member 105 is detached from the front panel 102 to install the hard disk drive into its install position of the computer 100, and then the member 105 is again attached.
The housing 101 encloses electronic parts such as CPU and the hard disk drive. The housing 101 has a passage, which is connecting both of the air intake openings 104 included in the side panels 103, for allowing air to flow therein. An air intake member 106 having two air intake portions 106a, 106b for separating the air flown in the passage into its two portions is arranged in the passage. In
This air intake member 106 is made so that in a rectangular metal plate, first and second air intake portions 106a, 106b, a top portion 106c, and a bottom portion 106d can be laid out; many hexagonal openings 107 can be worn in the first and second air intake portions 106a, 106b, respectively; the first and second air intake portions 106a, 106b are respectively bent along lateral portions 106c-1, 106c-2 of the top portion 106c to form sides of the air intake member 106; the bottom portion 106d is bent along a lateral portion 106a-1 of the second air intake portion 106a to attach the first air intake portion 106b. This allows the air intake member 106 having a frame-like cross section to be formed.
It is to be noted that the top portion 106c and the bottom portion 106d have no opening. Opposite openings 106e, 106f of this air intake member 106 functions as air intake openings when the air intake member 106 is arranged in the passage.
The following describe how to install this air intake member 106 into the housing 101 through the air intake opening 104. The air intake member 106 is so set as to face the first and second air intake portions 106a, 106b toward a direction (hereinafter referred to as “air intake direction”) perpendicular to a direction (hereinafter referred to as “passage direction”) along the passage. The air intake member 106 is then inserted into the housing 101 through the air intake opening 104. In the housing 101, a hook provided therein hooks and holds the air intake member 106. Thus, when the first and second air intake portions 106a, 106b are arranged to face them toward the air intake direction perpendicular to the passage direction, the first air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 can be positioned facing side surfaces of the hard disk drives.
The air intake member 106 can be formed of two metal plates each having many openings 107 without having a top portion and a bottom portion. In this case, the two plates are secured to install places in the housing 101 by screws.
The CPU 138, the heat sink 134, and the heat pipes 136 are provided near the second vent 144. Heat generated by the CPU 138 is transferred through the heat pipes 136 to the heat sink 134 that absorbs the heat. The second cooling fan 126 forces outside air that is taken from a lower portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 through a duct 160 to circulate, thereby directly exposing to the air the heat sink 134 that has absorbed the heat generated by the CPU 138. This enables the air to which the heat sink 134 is exposed to absorb any heat from the heat sink 134. The second cooling fan 126 exhausts this heat-absorbed air through the second vent 144 toward outside. Thus, since the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 is positioned facing or adjacent to the heat sink 134, it is possible to expose the heat sink 134 to the outside air to an extensive area thereof. Therefore, the heat sink 134 can be efficiently cooled.
The first cooling fan 124 and the power unit 132 are provided near the first vent 142. The graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158 are provided near the power unit 132. The first cooling fan 124 forces outside air that is taken from a upper portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106, not through the duct 160, to circulate, thereby exposing to the air the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158. This enables the air to which the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158 are exposed to absorb any heat from the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158. The first cooling fan 124 then forces the heat-absorbed air to circulate, thereby exposing to the heat-absorbed air the power unit 132. The first cooling fan 124 exhausts this further heat-absorbed air through the first vent 142 toward outside.
The first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 is positioned near the hard disk drives 130a through 130d. The optical drive 122 is provided above the hard disk drives 130a through 130d. The first cooling fan 124 also forces outside air that is taken from the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 to circulate, thereby directly exposing to the air the hard disk drives 130a through 130d. This enables the air to which the hard disk drives 130a through 130d are exposed to absorb any heat from the hard disk drives 130a through 130d. The first cooling fan 124 further forces the heat-absorbed air to circulate between the hard disk drive 130d and the optical drive 122. The first cooling fan 124 then forces this circulated air to circulate, thereby exposing the power unit 132 to the circulated air to absorb any heat generated by the power unit 132. The first cooling fan 124 exhausts this further heat-absorbed air through the first vent 142 toward outside. Thus, since the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 is positioned facing or adjacent to the hard disk drives 130a through 130d, it is possible to expose the hard disk drives 130a through 130d to the outside air to an extensive area thereof. Therefore, the hard disk drives 130a through 130d can be efficiently cooled.
According to the first way R1, the outside air taken from the lower portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 absorbs the heat from the heat sink 134 and this heat-absorbed air is exhausted toward outside through the second vent 144. In other words, in this first way R1, the second cooling fan 126 forces outside air that is taken from the lower portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 through the duct 160 to circulate, thereby directly exposing to the air the heat sink 134 that has absorbed the heat generated by the CPU 138. This air absorbs any heat from the heat sink 134. The second cooling fan 126 exhausts this heat-absorbed air through the second vent 144 toward outside.
According to the second way R2, the outside air taken from the upper portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 absorbs the heat from the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158 and this heat-absorbed air is exhausted toward outside through the first vent 142. In other words, in this second way R2, the first cooling fan 124 forces outside air that is taken from a upper portion of the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106, not through the duct 160, to circulate, thereby exposing to the air the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158. This air absorbs any heat from the graphics card 156 and the TV tuner card 158. The first cooling fan 124 then forces the heat-absorbed air to circulate, thereby exposing to the heat-absorbed air the power unit 132. The first cooling fan 124 further exhausts this further heat-absorbed air toward outside through the first vent 142.
According to the third way R3, the outside air taken from the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 absorbs the heat from the hard disk drives 130a through 130d and the optical drive 122 and this heat-absorbed air is exhausted toward outside through the first vent 142. In other words, in this third way R3, the first cooling fan 124 forces outside air that is taken from the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 to circulate, thereby directly exposing to the air the hard disk drives 130a through 130d. This air absorbs any heat from the hard disk drives 130a through 130d and the like and is circulated between the hard disk drive 130d and the optical drive 122. The first cooling fan 124 then forces this circulated air to circulate, thereby exposing the power unit 132 to the circulated air to absorb any heat generated by the power unit 132. The first cooling fan 124 further exhausts this further heat-absorbed air toward outside through the first vent 142.
Thus, by the three ways to take outside air from the air intake opening 104 and exhaust the heated air, it is possible to expose the heat sink 134 and the hard disk drives 130a through 130d, respectively, to the outside air to an extensive area thereof. Therefore, the heat sink 134 and the hard disk drives 130a through 130d can be efficiently cooled. This prevents the CPU 138 and the hard disk drives 130a through 130d from raising a temperature thereof, so that the computer 100 can avoid throughput thereof from dropping under a condition where raising a temperature thereof.
According to the computer 100 as an embodiment of the invention, the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 is positioned facing or adjacent to the hard disk drives 130a through 130d and the second air intake portion 106b of the air intake member 106 is positioned facing or adjacent to the heat sink 134.
Since the first cooling fan 124 forces outside air that is taken from the first air intake portion 106a of the air intake member 106 to circulate, thereby directly exposing to the air the hard disk drives 130a through 130d, and exhausts this air to which the hard disk drives 130a through 130d are exposed toward outside, it is possible to delete a special-purpose cooling fan for cooling the hard disk drives 130a through 130d.
Although it has been described in the above embodiments of the invention that the side panels 103 have air intake openings 104, this invention is not limited thereto. Only one side panel 103 can have the air intake opening 104.
It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alternations may occur depending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they are within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
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