1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system cooling, and more particularly to a system and method for adjusting portable information handling system cooling.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
When information handling systems were first developed, manufacturers typically built large box-shaped housings to hold the many components used to build an information handling system. Over time, manufacturers strove to reduce the size of information handling system housings so that their reduced footprint had less of an impact in an office or home environment. Eventually, portable information handling systems entered the market with housings sized so that an end user could carry the system while in use. Portable information handling systems initially tended to have reduced capabilities compared with desktop or tower information handling systems since the portable housing had to include a power source and integrated display. Manufacturers of portable information handling systems tended to use smaller and less capable components, which tended to have smaller footprints and reduced power consumption. However, increasing capabilities and decreasing size of components used to build information handling systems has led to greater capabilities in portable information handling systems. The improved capabilities of portable information handling systems has led to greater acceptance and usage of portable information handling systems so that end users have recently tended towards selecting portable systems as replacements for desktop and tower information handling systems.
Manufacturers typically face two substantial challenges when incorporating more advanced components into portable housings so that portable information handling system performance approaches that of desktop and tower systems: power consumption and cooling. More powerful processing components tend to consume more power when performing increased numbers of calculations and thus reduce the time that portable information handling system can operate on internal power, such as a battery. More powerful processing components also tend to produce additional heat as a byproduct when performing increased numbers of calculations. Cooling components within a portable housing presents a challenge since the reduced size of the housing makes an effective cooling airflow difficult to achieve. Further, creating a substantial airflow through a portable housing uses additional power and tends to gather dust at the cooling vents through which the airflow travels, making the cooling airflow less efficient. One approach used to manage power consumption and heat is to throttle the operation of processing components, such as CPU operating speeds, so that less power is consumed and less heat created. However, throttling processing components reduces the operating capability of the information handling system. In some systems, heat generated by processing components, even in a throttled state, can make a portable information handling system uncomfortable for an end user to hold in his lap. End users sometimes place a heat barrier beneath the portable information handling system to protect their lap from this heat, such as a thermal slice that attaches to the bottom of the information handling system or other types of pads, bases or shields.
Therefore a need has arisen for a system and method which manages information handling system performance based on whether a barrier protects an end user from heat produced by the information handling system.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are provided which substantially reduce the disadvantages and problems associated with previous methods and systems for managing information handling system performance. Coupling and uncoupling of a thermal barrier to an information handling system is detected to select thermal parameters for managing cooling within the information handling system.
More specifically, a thermal manager operating in firmware of an information handling system, such as the BIOS, sets thermal parameters for managing cooling within the chassis of the information handling system based on detection of coupling or uncoupling of a thermal barrier to the bottom of the chassis by a thermal barrier attachment detector. If a thermal barrier is coupled to the base of the information handling system chassis, the thermal manager selects thermal parameters that allow a higher temperature within the chassis than is allowed without a thermal barrier. The higher internal temperature allows the cooling fan to rotate at a slower speed and the CPU to operate at a greater clock speed since the thermal barrier will protect against passage of excess thermal energy from the bottom of the information handling system chassis to an end user. Operating the cooling fan at slower rotation speeds reduces dust and other contaminants from building up within the cooling subsystem of the information handling system so that the cooling subsystem operates more efficiently for a greater lifetime. Cooling system lifetime efficiency is further extended by including a filter in the thermal barrier.
The present invention provides a number of important technical advantages. One example of an important technical advantage is that information handling system performance is selectively increased if a barrier is detected that protects an end user from heat created by the information handling system. By increasing allowed operating temperatures, processing component performance may increase for a better end user experience and cooling subsystem operations may decrease for reduced acoustic noise and power consumption, such as by running a cooling fan at a lower temperature. Reduced cooling fan operating speeds reduce build of dust in vents for improved long term operations of the information handling system. The ability to detect a heat barrier and adjust cooling subsystem operations accordingly allows information handling systems to be built smaller, thinner and lighter, giving end users the option of attaching a heat barrier if greater system performance is desired.
The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference number throughout the several figures designates a like or similar element.
For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer, a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.
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Although CPU throttling will help maintain a comfortable temperature at the bottom surface of chassis 14, CPU throttling also reduces the performance of information handling system 10. In order to improve information handling system performance by reducing the need for CPU throttling to maintain a comfortable temperature at the bottom of chassis 14, thermal barrier 12 couples to the bottom surface of chassis 14 to reduce the amount of thermal energy passed from chassis 14 to an end user. Thermal barrier 12 is, for instance, a hollow or insulated piece sized to align and couple with the bottom surface of chassis 14. Alternatively, thermal barrier 12 provides additional functions to information handling system 12, such as an external attachable battery slice or media slice having an optical drive. In the embodiment depicted by
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Although the present invention has been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
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