Claims
- 1. A method for thermal management in a portable personal computer including a base having a front side, a back side, a right side, a left side, and a bottom surface and at least one stand member interconnectable with the base,said at least one stand member being positionable in a deployed position and a stowed position, wherein in said deployed position said at least one stand member supports at least one portion of said bottom surface of said base at an elevated level with respect to a surface that the portable personal computer is supported by, said at least one stand member engaging a surface of said base or being retracted within said computer in said stowed position, said computer further including at least one heat-generating device wherein said heat-generating device generates heat in an “on” state, and does not generate heat in an “off” state, said method comprising: detecting whether said at least one stand member is in a deployed or a non-deployed position; detecting a temperature of said computer; and deactivating at least one of said at least one heat-generating device when a total heat output of the computer exceeds either of a cooling capacity of the computer or a predetermined heat output level.
- 2. A method for thermal management in a portable personal computer according to claim 1, wherein said portable personal computer further includes an active cooling device for cooling said portable personal computer, wherein said method further comprises the step of:activating said active cooling device if said at least one stand is in a stowed position or if a heat output by the computer or a temperature of the computer exceeds a predetermined level.
- 3. A method for thermal management in a portable personal computer according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:deploying said at least one stand member, wherein said at least one stand member engages the surface that the computer is supported by to elevate at least a portion of said bottom surface with respect to the surface that the computer is supported by.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising activating at least one of said at least one heat-generating device when a total heat output of the computer is less than a cooling capacity of the computer.
- 5. A method for cooling a portable personal computer, comprising:sensing whether a computer stand unit is deployed or stowed, wherein, when the computer stand unit is deployed, an air space is established which is sufficient to allow ambient air to circulate around a casing of the portable personal computer; evaluating a total amount of heat generated by a processor and at least one other heat-generating component associated with the computer; comparing the total amount of heat generated with a first threshold heat value if the computer stand unit is deployed; comparing the total amount of heat generated with a second threshold heat value if the computer stand unit is stowed; and activating a cooling device and forcing air to circulate in the computer if either of the first or second threshold heat values is exceeded.
- 6. A method for cooling a portable personal computer, comprising:sensing whether a computer stand unit is deployed or stowed, wherein, when the computer stand unit is deployed, an air space is established which is sufficient to allow ambient air to circulate around a casing of the portable personal computer; evaluating a total amount of heat generated by a processor and at least one other heat-generating component associated with the computer; comparing the total amount of heat generated with a first threshold heat value if the computer stand unit is deployed; comparing the total amount of heat generated with a second threshold heat value if the computer stand unit is stowed; and at least temporarily securing operation of one or more of the at least one other heat generating component if either of the first or second threshold heat values is exceeded to protect the processor from heat damage and to provide for operation of the computer in a degraded mode.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a divisional application of co-pending application Ser. No. 08/988,370, filed Dec. 10, 1997.
US Referenced Citations (18)