U.S. patent application number 13/570073 was filed with the patent office on 2014-02-13 for heat transfer device management.
The applicant listed for this patent is Andrew D. Delano, Edward C. Giaimo, III, Yi He, Robert D. Young. Invention is credited to Andrew D. Delano, Edward C. Giaimo, III, Yi He, Robert D. Young.
Application Number | 20140041827 13/570073 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49036634 |
Filed Date | 2014-02-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140041827 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Giaimo, III; Edward C. ; et
al. |
February 13, 2014 |
Heat Transfer Device Management
Abstract
Techniques involving management of a heat transfer device are
described. In one or more implementations, a device includes a
housing, a heat-generating device disposed within the housing, and
a heat transfer device disposed within the housing. The heat
transfer device has a powered active cooling device. The device
also includes one or more modules that are configured to adjust
operation of the powered active cooling device based on a likely
orientation of the heat transfer device.
Inventors: |
Giaimo, III; Edward C.;
(Bellevue, WA) ; He; Yi; (Issaquah, WA) ;
Young; Robert D.; (Kirkland, WA) ; Delano; Andrew
D.; (Woodinville, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Giaimo, III; Edward C.
He; Yi
Young; Robert D.
Delano; Andrew D. |
Bellevue
Issaquah
Kirkland
Woodinville |
WA
WA
WA
WA |
US
US
US
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49036634 |
Appl. No.: |
13/570073 |
Filed: |
August 8, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/11.1 ;
165/200 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/3234 20130101;
G06F 1/203 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/11.1 ;
165/200 |
International
Class: |
F28F 27/00 20060101
F28F027/00 |
Claims
1. A device comprising: a housing; a heat-generating device
disposed within the housing; a heat transfer device disposed within
the housing, the heat transfer device having a powered active
cooling device; and one or more modules that are configured to
adjust operation of the powered active cooling device based on a
likely orientation of the heat transfer device.
2. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the operation is
adjusted by adjusting a speed of a fan of the heat transfer device
based on the likely orientation of the heat transfer device.
3. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the operation is
adjusted by adjusting an amount of cooling provided by the powered
active cooling device of the heat transfer device based on the
likely orientation.
4. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the one or more
modules are configured to determine the likely orientation of the
heat transfer device in two or more dimensions based on one or more
sensors of the device.
5. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the heat transfer
device includes plurality of heat pipes, at least two of which are
arranged in generally opposing directions.
6. A device as described in claim 5, further comprising a display
device and wherein the housing is configured to assume at least one
orientation in which the display device is viewable by a user in a
landscape orientation and at least two of the plurality of heat
pipes are arranged generally horizontally when in the landscape
orientation.
7. A device as described in claim 5, wherein each of the plurality
of heat pipes is thermally coupled to the heat-generating device
through use of a single spreading plate.
8. A device as described in claim 5, wherein the plurality of heat
pipes are arranged such that an effect of gravity on one of the
heat pipes to perform heat transfer is counteracted by another one
of the heat pipes.
9. A device as described in claim 1, wherein: the heat transfer
device includes first and second heat pipes; each of the first and
second heat pipes have an evaporator portion and a condenser
portion; and the condenser portions of the first and second heat
pipes are positioned further from each other than the evaporator
portions of the first and second heat pipes.
10. A device as described in claim 9, wherein each said condenser
portion is disposed proximal to a respective said fan to be cooled
by the respective said fan.
11. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the housing is
configured to be held by one or more hands of a user and moved
through the at least two dimensions during usage.
12. A device as described in claim 11, wherein the housing is
configured for use as a mobile communications device.
13. A device as described in claim 1, wherein the heat-generating
device is a processing system and the device is a computing
device.
14. A method comprising: determining a likely orientation of a
computing device by the computing device; and managing a speed of
at least one fan of the computing device based on the likely
orientation of the computing device.
15. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the determining is
performed by one or more modules of the computing device using
inputs received from one or more sensors of the computing
device.
16. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the computing device
includes a plurality of said fans and the managing includes
adjusting the speed of respective said fans individually based on
the orientation.
17. A method as described in claim 14, wherein the likely
orientation results in a portrait view of a display device of the
computing device and the managing includes adjusting a speed of one
of the plurality of said fans to be greater than a speed of another
one of the plurality of said fans.
18. A computing device comprising: a housing configured in a
handheld form factor that is sized to be held by one or more hands
of a user; a heat transfer device disposed within the housing and
configured to transfer heat in generally opposing directions, the
heat transfer device including a plurality of fans, at least two of
which positioned at the opposing directions, respectively; one or
more sensors configured to detect a likely orientation of the
housing; and one or more modules that are configured to adjust a
speed of each of the plurality of fans of the heat transfer device
individually based on the detected likely orientation.
19. A computing device as described in claim 18, wherein the one or
more modules are configured to performed the adjustment of the
speed of each of the plurality of fans using pulse width
modulation.
20. A computing device as described in claim 18, wherein the
detected likely orientation of the housing describes roll or pitch
in three dimensional space.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Computing devices are available in an ever increasing
variety of configurations. As these configurations have gotten
smaller, however, heat generated by the computing device has become
increasingly problematic. For example, a computing device that is
configured for a handheld form factor (e.g., phone, tablet) may
have a limited amount of space to address heat generated by the
components of the device.
[0002] Consequently, conventional techniques that were utilized to
perform heat transfer could be inadequate and/or force compromise
in selection of components when confronted with this form factor.
For example, a manufacturer of a tablet computing device could be
forced to forego processing capabilities provided by a processing
system in situations in which the manufacturer is not able to solve
a problem of how to keep the processing system in a specified
temperature range during operation.
SUMMARY
[0003] Techniques involving management of a heat transfer device
are described. In one or more implementations, a device includes a
housing, a heat-generating device disposed within the housing, and
a heat transfer device disposed within the housing. The heat
transfer device has a powered active cooling device. The device
also includes one or more modules that are configured to adjust
operation of the powered active cooling device based on a likely
orientation of the heat transfer device.
[0004] In one or more implementations, a determination is made as
to a likely orientation of a computing device by the computing
device. A speed of at least one fan of the computing device is
managed based on the likely orientation of the computing
device.
[0005] In one or more implementations, a computing device includes
a housing configured in a handheld form factor that is sized to be
held by one or more hands of a user. The computing device also
includes a heat transfer device disposed within the housing and
configured to transfer heat in generally opposing directions, the
heat transfer device including a plurality of fans, at least two of
which positioned at the opposing directions, respectively. The
computing device further includes one or more sensors configured to
detect a likely orientation of the housing and one or more modules
that are configured to adjust a speed of each of the plurality of
fans of the heat transfer device individually based on the detected
likely orientation.
[0006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of
concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in
the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter,
nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of
the claimed subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The detailed description is described with reference to the
accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the figure in which the reference
number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in
different instances in the description and the figures may indicate
similar or identical items. Entities represented in the figures may
be indicative of one or more entities and thus reference may be
made interchangeably to single or plural forms of the entities in
the discussion.
[0008] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment in an example
implementation that is operable to employ techniques to manage a
heat transfer device.
[0009] FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation showing a heat
transfer device of FIG. 1 as supporting heat transfer using a heat
pipe.
[0010] FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation showing a heat
transfer device of FIG. 1 as supporting generally uniform heat
transfer through a variety of different orientations.
[0011] FIG. 4 depicts an example of a system that employs the heat
management module and heat transfer device.
[0012] FIG. 5 depicts an example of a system that employs active
fan control that leverages a temperature control and fan speed
controller.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting a procedure in an example
implementation in which heat transfer device management is
performed.
[0014] FIG. 7 illustrates an example system including various
components of an example device that can be implemented as any type
of computing device as described with reference to FIGS. 1-5 to
implement embodiments of the techniques described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Overview
[0016] Limitations involved with conventional techniques for heat
transfer utilized by computing devices and other devices could have
an adverse effect on overall functionality of the device. This
effect, for instance, may limit functionality that may be
incorporated by the device (e.g., speed of a processing system), a
user's experience with the device (e.g., noise caused by fans and
even an overall temperature of the device when physically contacted
by a user), form factors that may be employed by the device (e.g.,
size and shape of the device that permits sufficient cooling), and
so forth.
[0017] Heat transfer device management techniques are described
herein. In one or more implementations, a heat transfer device is
configured to provide generally uniform cooling in different
orientations of a computing device. The heat transfer device, for
instance, may include first and second heat pipes that are arranged
in opposing directions away from a heat-generating device.
Therefore, an effect of gravity on the first heat pipe may be
compensated for by the second heat pipe and vice versa.
Accordingly, the heat transfer device may support heat transfer
during movement of a computing device through a variety of
different orientations. Further, the heat pipes may be used to
support a plurality of fans, which may be utilized to conserve
space and improve energy efficiency of the computing device.
[0018] However, as stated above different orientations may involve
different efficiencies of the heat pipes. Accordingly, management
techniques may be utilized to adjust a speed of a fan based on the
orientation. For example, an orientation may be encountered in
which efficient of a first heat pipe is greater than a second heat
pipe. Techniques may be employed such that a speed of a fan
associated with the first heat pipe has a greater speed than a
speed of a fan associated with the second heat pipe. In this way,
the fans may be individually controlled to increase efficiency and
conserve resources of a device. Further discussion of these and
other techniques may be found in relation to the following
sections.
[0019] In the following discussion, an example environment is first
described that may employ the heat transfer techniques described
herein. Example procedures are then described which may be
performed in the example environment as well as other environments.
Consequently, performance of the example procedures is not limited
to the example environment and the example environment is not
limited to performance of the example procedures.
[0020] Example Environment
[0021] FIG. 1 is an illustration of an environment 100 in an
example implementation that is operable to employ techniques
described herein. The illustrated environment 100 includes a
computing device 102 having a processing system 104 and a
computer-readable storage medium that is illustrated as a memory
106 although other confirmations are also contemplated as further
described below.
[0022] The computing device 102 may be configured in a variety of
ways. For example, a computing device may be configured as a
computer that is capable of communicating over a network, such as a
desktop computer, a mobile station, an entertainment appliance, a
set-top box communicatively coupled to a display device, a wireless
phone, a game console, and so forth. Thus, the computing device 102
may range from full resource devices with substantial memory and
processor resources (e.g., personal computers, game consoles) to a
low-resource device with limited memory and/or processing resources
(e.g., traditional set-top boxes, hand-held game consoles).
Additionally, although a single computing device 102 is shown, the
computing device 102 may be representative of a plurality of
different devices, such as multiple servers utilized by a business
to perform operations such as by a web service, a remote control
and set-top box combination, an image capture device and a game
console configured to capture gestures, and so on. Further
discussion of different configurations that may be assumed by the
computing device may be found in relation to FIG. 5.
[0023] The computing device 102 is further illustrated as including
an operating system 108. The operating system 108 is configured to
abstract underlying functionality of the computing device 102 to
applications 110 that are executable on the computing device 102.
For example, the operating system 108 may abstract the processing
system 104, memory 106, network, and/or display device 112
functionality of the computing device 102 such that the
applications 110 may be written without knowing "how" this
underlying functionality is implemented. The application 110, for
instance, may provide data to the operating system 108 to be
rendered and displayed by the display device 112 without
understanding how this rendering will be performed. The operating
system 108 may also represent a variety of other functionality,
such as to manage a file system and user interface that is
navigable by a user of the computing device 102.
[0024] The computing device 102 may support a variety of different
interactions. For example, the computing device 102 may include one
or more hardware devices that are manipulable by a user to interact
with the device, such as a keyboard, cursor control device (e.g.,
mouse), and so on. The computing device 102 may also support
gestures, which may be detected in a variety of ways. The computing
device 102, for instance, may support touch gestures that are
detected using touch functionality of the computing device 102. The
sensors 114, for instance, may be configured to provide touchscreen
functionality in conjunction with the display device 112, alone as
part of a track pad, and so on. An example of this is illustrated
in FIG. 1 in which first and second hands 116, 118 of a user are
illustrated. The first hand 116 of the user is shown as holding a
housing 120 of the computing device 102. The second hand 118 of the
user is illustrated as providing one or more inputs that are
detected using touchscreen functionality of the display device 112
to perform an operation, such as to make a swipe gesture to pan
through representations of applications in the start menu of the
operating system 108 as illustrated.
[0025] Thus, recognition of the inputs may be leveraged to interact
with a user interface output by the computing device 102, such as
to interact with a game, an application, browse the internet,
change one or more settings of the computing device 102, and so
forth. The sensors 114 may also be configured to support a natural
user interface (NUI) that may recognize interactions that may not
involve touch. For example, the sensors 114 may be configured to
detect inputs without having a user touch a particular device, such
as to recognize audio inputs through use of a microphone. For
instance, the sensors 114 may include a microphone to support voice
recognition to recognize particular utterances (e.g., a spoken
command) as well as to recognize a particular user that provided
the utterances.
[0026] In another example, the sensors 114 may be configured to
detect orientation of the computing device 102 in one or more
dimensions, such as the x, y, and z dimensions as illustrated,
through use of accelerometers, gyroscopes, inertial measurement
units (IMUs), magnetometers, and so on. This orientation may be
recognized in whole in in part for a variety of purposes, such as
to support gestures, manage operation of the computing device 102,
and so on.
[0027] The computing device 102 is further illustrated as including
a heat management module 122 and a heat transfer device 124. The
heat management module 122 is representative of functionality of
the computing device 102 to manage operation of the heat transfer
device 124. This may be based on sensors 114 such as temperature
sensors, a determined orientation of the computing device 102, and
so on. The heat transfer device 124 may be configured in a variety
of ways, an example of which is described in relation to the
following figure.
[0028] FIG. 2 depicts an example implementation 200 showing a
portion of the heat transfer device 124 of FIG. 1 as employing a
heat pipe. The heat transfer device 124 is illustrated as being
disposed proximal to a heat-generating device 202, such as a
processing system 104 as described in relation to FIG. 1 although
other heat-generating devices are also contemplated such as other
electrical devices of a computing device or other apparatus.
[0029] The heat transfer device 124 in this example includes a heat
pipe 204. The heat pipe 204 is configured to transfer heat away
from the heat-generating device 202 through use of thermal
conductivity and phase transition. For example, the heat pipe 202
may be formed as an enclosed tube from a thermally conductive
material, e.g., a metal such as copper, and thus may conduct heat
away from the heat-generating device 202 using thermal
conductivity.
[0030] The tube may include material disposed therein that is
configured to undergo a phase transition, such as from a liquid to
a gas in this example. An evaporator portion of the heat pipe, for
instance, may be disposed proximal to a heat source from which heat
is to be transferred, e.g., the heat-generating device 202. Liquid
disposed at the evaporator portion may absorb heat until a phase
transition occurs to form a gas. The gas may then travel through
the tube using convection to be cooled at a condenser portion of
the heat pipe 204, e.g., through use of one or more heat cooling
fins as illustrated such as forced convection fins, by air movement
caused through use of one or more fans, and so on.
[0031] Cooling of the gas may cause the material to undergo another
phase transition back to a liquid as the heat is released. The
liquid may then move back toward the evaporator portion of the heat
pipe 204 (e.g., through capillary action) and this process may be
repeated. Although a heat pipe 204 is described in this example a
variety of different heat sinks are contemplated, such as a
folded-fin heat sink, a heat sink with a vapor chamber, a heat sink
with a solid metal base, and so forth.
[0032] As previously described, the computing device 102 may be
configured in a variety of ways. In some instances, those
configurations may involve movement through and usage of the
computing device 102 in a plurality of orientations in three
dimensional space. Accordingly, the heat transfer device 124 may be
configured to support heat transfer in these different
orientations, an example of which may be found in relation to the
following figure.
[0033] FIG. 3 depicts an example implementation 300 in which the
heat transfer device of FIG. 1 is configured to provide generally
uniform cooling when placed in a variety of different orientations.
In this example, the heat transfer device 124 includes a plurality
of heat pipes, shown as first and second heat pipes 302, 304. The
first and second heat pipes 302, 304 are configured to conduct heat
away from a heat-generating device 202 as before. For example, the
first and second heat pipes 302, 304 may be configured to leverage
thermal conductivity and phase transition. Thus, the first and
second heat pipes 302, 304 may include evaporator portions disposed
proximal to the heat-generating device 202, e.g., thermally coupled
through a spread plate, and evaporator portions disposed away from
the heat-generating device 202. The evaporator portions of the
first and second heat pipes 302, 304 are illustrated as including
fins in the example implementation 300, e.g., forced convection
fins, and being cooled by powered active cooling devices that are
illustrated as first and second fans, 306, 308, respectively.
[0034] The heat pipes in this example are arranged to provide
generally uniform heat transfer from the heat-generating device 202
through a plurality of different orientations in one or more of the
x, y, or z axis. For example, heat pipes are partially driven by
gravity force. Therefore, orientation of a heat pipe relative to
gravity may have an effect on the heat pipe's thermal load carrying
capability.
[0035] Accordingly, the first and second heat pipes 302, 304 in the
illustrated example are illustrated as being arranged in generally
opposing directions from the heat-generating device 202.
Arrangement of the first and second heat pipes 302, 304 in the
opposing directions may be utilized to support a variety of
features.
[0036] For example, during movement of the heat transfer device 124
through different orientations, one of the heat pipes may have a
higher performance due to gravity than the opposing heat pipe.
Therefore, this higher performance may help to reduce and even
cancel lower performance experienced by the heat pipe that does not
have this advantage. In this way, the heat transfer device 124 may
provide generally uniform heat transfer from the heat-generating
device 202 in a variety of different orientations. Although two
heat pipes are described in this example, the heat transfer device
124 may employ different numbers of heat pipes arranged in
different orientations without departing from the spirit and scope
thereof, such as to employ an arrangement that coincides with
contemplated orientations in which the computing device 102 is to
be used.
[0037] In the illustrated example, the heat transfer device 124 is
further illustrated as being cooled by a plurality of fans,
examples of which are illustrated as first and second fans 306, 308
to cool the first and second heat pipes 302, 304, respectively. Use
of more than one fan by the computing device 102 may support a
variety of different features. For example, use of the first and
second fans 306, 308 may occupy a smaller amount of system
"footprint" within the housing 120 than that consumed by a single
fan of equal cooling performance. For instance, the first and
second fans 306, 308 may consume less space in the housing 120
along the y axis in the illustrated example. Further, two or more
fans are able to operate with greater efficiency than a single fan
that offers similar cooling performance. For example, power
consumption by a fan increases as a third power of fan speed.
Therefore, a single fan that operates at twice the speed of two
fans demands four times as much power as the two fans. Thus, the
heat transfer device 124 may be configured in a variety of ways to
provide a variety of different functionality as previously
described. Further, this efficiency may be further increased
through management of operation of powered active cooling devices
by the heat management module 122, further discussion of which may
be found in relation to the following figure.
[0038] FIG. 4 depicts a system 400 in an example implementation in
which operation of powered active cooling devices is adjusted based
on orientation. The system 400 in this example includes the heat
management module 122 and the heat transfer device 124 of FIG. 1.
The heat transfer device 124 in this example includes a plurality
of powered active cooling devices that are illustrated a fans 306,
308.
[0039] The heat management module 122 is configured to control
operation of the fans 306, 308, such as to adjust a fan speed to
support a plurality of operational modes, adjust between an
operation mode and non-operational mode (i.e., "on" and "off"), and
so on. Other numbers and types of powered active cooling devices
are also contemplated without departing from the spirit and scope
thereof, such as to control a compressor (e.g., of a powered phase
change cooling unit), valves, use of a single fan, and so on.
[0040] When in a landscape mode as shown in FIG. 3, both heat pipes
have the same efficiency of heat transfer. However, in portrait,
the heat pipe with condensing section on the top have higher
efficiency since the gravity helps condensed fluid readily to
return to the evaporating section. For example, rotation of the
device of FIG. 3 ninety degrees causes the top heat pipe to have
increased efficiency than that of the bottom heat pipe.
[0041] The heat management module 122 may be configured to leverage
the differences in efficiency to support a variety of
functionality. For example, the heat management module 122 may be
configured to increase a speed of a fan associated with a heat pipe
having increased efficiency and reduce and even stop a fan
associated with a heat pipe having decreased efficiency. In this
way, power consumption and noise of the heat transfer device 124
may be lessened, thereby conserving power and resulting in an
improved user experience. The fan law for noise level is
N2-N1=50*log 10(rpm2/rpm1). Doubling the speed of a single fan
increases the sound power by 15.1 dB. Two fans, both at rpm1,
increases the noise by 3 dB, which doubles the noise output. Thus
running a single fan at 2*rpm1 outputs .about.12 dB more sound
power than running two fans at rpm1.
[0042] The heat management module 122 may determine an orientation
of the heat transfer device 124 in a variety of ways. The heat
management module 122, for instance, may receive inputs from one or
orientation sensors 402 of the computing device, such as a
three-dimensional accelerometer, inertial measurement unit,
gyroscope, magnetometer, and so on. Thus, the heat management
module 122 may receive an indication of a likely orientation of the
computing device 102 and also components of the heat management
module 122, e.g., the heat pipes 302, 304 of FIG. 3.
[0043] The system includes a representation of a three-dimensional
coordinate system that includes x, y, and z axes. Roll around the y
axis, pitch around the x axis, and even yaw around the z axis may
be computing in a variety of ways to describe the orientation, an
example of which is described as follows.
[0044] The roll and pitch can be computed from the following
roll=a tan 2(Gx, {square root over (Gy.sup.2+Gz.sup.2))}
pitch=a tan 2(Gy, (Gy 2+Gz 2))
[0045] When the roll is equal to 90 degrees, for instance, the
system may assume a portrait orientation in which a first heat pipe
has increased efficiency in comparison with a second heat pipe.
However, when the roll is equal to -90 degrees, the system is also
in the portrait orientation but the second heat pipe has increased
efficiency in comparison with the first heat pipe.
[0046] Weighting strategies may then be employed by the heat
management module 122 to manage operation of powered active cooling
devices accordingly. For example, when the roll is within a
predefined amount of degrees away from 90 degrees, a first fan may
be operated alone to take advantage of the higher efficiency of a
corresponding first heat pipe. Further, the heat management module
122 may be configured to cease operation of a second fan associated
with the second heat pipe that has the reduced efficiency. In this
way, power may be conserved and noise reduced in the operation of
the fans. A variety of other examples are also contemplated, such
as to take into account both roll and pitch, yaw, and so on. For
instance, a variety of different operational modes may be employed
as previously described, such as to operate the fans or other
powered active cooling devices at a plurality of different
operational modes, e.g., speeds.
[0047] In this example, the heat management module 122 may leverage
existing hardware of a device, e.g., orientation sensors 402 that
are utilized to support gestures and other functionality. Thus,
this functionality may be supported without increasing
manufacturing costs of the device yet still achieve the benefits
described herein. The heat management module 122 may also leverage
other inputs to perform the management, such as temperature sensors
404 and other functionality as further described below.
[0048] FIG. 5 depicts an example implementation 500 of the heat
management module 122 as including a temperature controller and a
fan speed controller. In this example implementation, the heat
management module 122 is configured as a closed loop active fan
control. As before, the heat management module 122 may leverage a
variety of sensors including on board temperature sensors on dual
in-line memory modules, on board temperature sensors on a display
device, on board temperature sensors near a touch surface, on die
processor digital thermal sensors, on die PCH digital thermal
sensors, and so on.
[0049] A temperature controller module 502 is illustrated as
included in an outer loop of the diagram. Given a fixed target
temperature input, this module may attempt to keep a component's
temperature (e.g., processor temperature) below the input. If there
is enough thermal disturbance from the system 506, e.g., heat, the
fans may be driven at various speeds by the temperature
controller.
[0050] The inner loop of the diagram includes a fan speed
controller module 504. This module may be driven by the temperature
controller module 502. This close-loop controller may be used to
maintain a desired speed (e.g., RPM) for one or more fans,
including different speeds for different fans as described above as
well as other powered active cooling devices.
[0051] The temperature controller module 502 and the fan speed
controller module 504 may be implemented using a variety of
devices. For example, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID)
controller may be used. The PID control output u(t) may be
calculated based on an error between a desired value and sensed
value e(t), an example of which is shown in the following
expression.
u ( t ) = K p e ( t ) + K i .intg. 0 t e ( .tau. ) .tau. + K d t e
( t ) ##EQU00001##
The PID control expression above includes three terms, proportional
term evaluating present error, integral term evaluating
accumulation of past errors, and derivative term evaluating
prediction of future errors. This is in contrast to traditional fan
curve calculation that is based on adjusting the fan duty cycles
based on the temperature values. Rather, the PID controller in this
instance is capable of adapting to environment change such as
ambient temperature and environmental change. It should be readily
apparent, however, that other examples are also contemplated.
[0052] Although described for devices that assume a mobile form
factor that is configured to be grasped by one or more hands of a
user, these techniques may be leveraged for a variety of other
devices. For example, a game console may be configured to be placed
in a variety of orientations, such as flat or "on end." The game
console may determine the orientation (e.g., by leveraging a sensor
utilized to determine how to display which controls are active) and
thus adjust the active cooling accordingly. A manufacturer, for
instance, may design different speeds for use of a fan based on the
orientation without employing dedicated temperature monitoring.
Other devices are also contemplated, such as for a desktop monitor
configured to assume portrait and landscape orientations.
[0053] Example Procedures
[0054] The following discussion describes heat transfer techniques
that may be implemented utilizing the previously described systems
and devices. Aspects of each of the procedures may be implemented
in hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination thereof. The
procedures are shown as a set of blocks that specify operations
performed by one or more devices and are not necessarily limited to
the orders shown for performing the operations by the respective
blocks. In portions of the following discussion, reference will be
made to FIGS. 1-5.
[0055] FIG. 6 depicts a procedure 600 in an example implementation
in which heat transfer device management is performed. A likely
orientation of a computing device is determined by a computing
device (block 602). This may include receiving inputs from one or
more sensors (e.g., accelerometers) and then calculating the likely
orientation. In another example, this may include receiving an
input that describes the orientation as already calculated. The
orientation of the computing device 102 (e.g., the housing 120) may
be indicative of the likely orientation of the heat transfer device
124 and thus determination of one may be indicative of the other,
although other embodiments are also contemplated.
[0056] A speed of at least one fan of the computing device is
managed based on the likely orientation of the computing device
(block 604). This may include permitting or restriction operation
of the fan (e.g., "on" or "off"), use of a plurality of different
operational modes (e.g., low speed or high speed), and so on.
Further, although management of fan speed was described for this
example, a variety of other examples of management of powered
active cooling devices are contemplated without departing from the
spirit and scope thereof.
[0057] Example System and Device
[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates an example system generally at 700 that
includes an example computing device 702 that is representative of
one or more computing systems and/or devices that may implement the
various techniques described herein. The computing device 702 may
be, for example, a server of a service provider, a device
associated with a client (e.g., a client device), an on-chip
system, and/or any other suitable computing device or computing
system. As such, the heat management module 122 is illustrated as
part of the device to support the techniques previously described
to manage powered active cooling devices, such as fans,
compressors, and so forth.
[0059] The example computing device 702 as illustrated includes a
processing system 704, one or more computer-readable media 706, and
one or more I/O interface 708 that are communicatively coupled, one
to another. Although not shown, the computing device 702 may
further include a system bus or other data and command transfer
system that couples the various components, one to another. A
system bus can include any one or combination of different bus
structures, such as a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral
bus, a universal serial bus, and/or a processor or local bus that
utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures. A variety of other
examples are also contemplated, such as control and data lines.
[0060] The processing system 704 is representative of functionality
to perform one or more operations using hardware. Accordingly, the
processing system 704 is illustrated as including hardware element
710 that may be configured as processors, functional blocks, and so
forth. This may include implementation in hardware as an
application specific integrated circuit or other logic device
formed using one or more semiconductors. The hardware elements 710
are not limited by the materials from which they are formed or the
processing mechanisms employed therein. For example, processors may
be comprised of semiconductor(s) and/or transistors (e.g.,
electronic integrated circuits (ICs)). In such a context,
processor-executable instructions may be electronically-executable
instructions.
[0061] The computer-readable storage media 706 is illustrated as
including memory/storage 712. The memory/storage 712 represents
memory/storage capacity associated with one or more
computer-readable media. The memory/storage component 712 may
include volatile media (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/or
nonvolatile media (such as read only memory (ROM), Flash memory,
optical disks, magnetic disks, and so forth). The memory/storage
component 712 may include fixed media (e.g., RAM, ROM, a fixed hard
drive, and so on) as well as removable media (e.g., Flash memory, a
removable hard drive, an optical disc, and so forth). The
computer-readable media 706 may be configured in a variety of other
ways as further described below.
[0062] Input/output interface(s) 708 are representative of
functionality to allow a user to enter commands and information to
computing device 702, and also allow information to be presented to
the user and/or other components or devices using various
input/output devices. Examples of input devices include a keyboard,
a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a microphone, a scanner,
touch functionality (e.g., capacitive or other sensors that are
configured to detect physical touch), a camera (e.g., which may
employ visible or non-visible wavelengths such as infrared
frequencies to recognize movement as gestures that do not involve
touch), and so forth. Examples of output devices include a display
device (e.g., a monitor or projector), speakers, a printer, a
network card, tactile-response device, and so forth. Thus, the
computing device 702 may be configured in a variety of ways as
further described below to support user interaction.
[0063] Various techniques may be described herein in the general
context of software, hardware elements, or program modules.
Generally, such modules include routines, programs, objects,
elements, components, data structures, and so forth that perform
particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The
terms "module," "functionality," and "component" as used herein
generally represent software, firmware, hardware, or a combination
thereof. The features of the techniques described herein are
platform-independent, meaning that the techniques may be
implemented on a variety of commercial computing platforms having a
variety of processors.
[0064] An implementation of the described modules and techniques
may be stored on or transmitted across some form of
computer-readable media. The computer-readable media may include a
variety of media that may be accessed by the computing device 702.
By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may
include "computer-readable storage media" and "computer-readable
signal media."
[0065] "Computer-readable storage media" may refer to media and/or
devices that enable persistent and/or non-transitory storage of
information in contrast to mere signal transmission, carrier waves,
or signals per se. Thus, computer-readable storage media refers to
non-signal bearing media. The computer-readable storage media
includes hardware such as volatile and non-volatile, removable and
non-removable media and/or storage devices implemented in a method
or technology suitable for storage of information such as computer
readable instructions, data structures, program modules, logic
elements/circuits, or other data. Examples of computer-readable
storage media may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,
EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital
versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, hard disks,
magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other
magnetic storage devices, or other storage device, tangible media,
or article of manufacture suitable to store the desired information
and which may be accessed by a computer.
[0066] "Computer-readable signal media" may refer to a
signal-bearing medium that is configured to transmit instructions
to the hardware of the computing device 702, such as via a network.
Signal media typically may embody computer readable instructions,
data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data
signal, such as carrier waves, data signals, or other transport
mechanism. Signal media also include any information delivery
media. The term "modulated data signal" means a signal that has one
or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as
to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not
limitation, communication media include wired media such as a wired
network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as
acoustic, RF, infrared, and other wireless media.
[0067] As previously described, hardware elements 710 and
computer-readable media 706 are representative of modules,
programmable device logic and/or fixed device logic implemented in
a hardware form that may be employed in some embodiments to
implement at least some aspects of the techniques described herein,
such as to perform one or more instructions. Hardware may include
components of an integrated circuit or on-chip system, an
application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a
field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic
device (CPLD), and other implementations in silicon or other
hardware. In this context, hardware may operate as a processing
device that performs program tasks defined by instructions and/or
logic embodied by the hardware as well as a hardware utilized to
store instructions for execution, e.g., the computer-readable
storage media described previously.
[0068] Combinations of the foregoing may also be employed to
implement various techniques described herein. Accordingly,
software, hardware, or executable modules may be implemented as one
or more instructions and/or logic embodied on some form of
computer-readable storage media and/or by one or more hardware
elements 710. The computing device 702 may be configured to
implement particular instructions and/or functions corresponding to
the software and/or hardware modules. Accordingly, implementation
of a module that is executable by the computing device 702 as
software may be achieved at least partially in hardware, e.g.,
through use of computer-readable storage media and/or hardware
elements 710 of the processing system 704. The instructions and/or
functions may be executable/operable by one or more articles of
manufacture (for example, one or more computing devices 702 and/or
processing systems 704) to implement techniques, modules, and
examples described herein.
[0069] As further illustrated in FIG. 7, the example system 700
enables ubiquitous environments for a seamless user experience when
running applications on a personal computer (PC), a television
device, and/or a mobile device. Services and applications run
substantially similar in all three environments for a common user
experience when transitioning from one device to the next while
utilizing an application, playing a video game, watching a video,
and so on.
[0070] In the example system 700, multiple devices are
interconnected through a central computing device. The central
computing device may be local to the multiple devices or may be
located remotely from the multiple devices. In one embodiment, the
central computing device may be a cloud of one or more server
computers that are connected to the multiple devices through a
network, the Internet, or other data communication link.
[0071] In one embodiment, this interconnection architecture enables
functionality to be delivered across multiple devices to provide a
common and seamless experience to a user of the multiple devices.
Each of the multiple devices may have different physical
requirements and capabilities, and the central computing device
uses a platform to enable the delivery of an experience to the
device that is both tailored to the device and yet common to all
devices. In one embodiment, a class of target devices is created
and experiences are tailored to the generic class of devices. A
class of devices may be defined by physical features, types of
usage, or other common characteristics of the devices.
[0072] In various implementations, the computing device 702 may
assume a variety of different configurations, such as for computer
714, mobile 716, and television 718 uses. Each of these
configurations includes devices that may have generally different
constructs and capabilities, and thus the computing device 702 may
be configured according to one or more of the different device
classes. For instance, the computing device 702 may be implemented
as the computer 714 class of a device that includes a personal
computer, desktop computer, a multi-screen computer, laptop
computer, netbook, and so on.
[0073] The computing device 702 may also be implemented as the
mobile 716 class of device that includes mobile devices, such as a
mobile phone, portable music player, portable gaming device, a
tablet computer, a multi-screen computer, and so on. The computing
device 702 may also be implemented as the television 718 class of
device that includes devices having or connected to generally
larger screens in casual viewing environments. These devices
include televisions, set-top boxes, gaming consoles, and so on.
[0074] The techniques described herein may be supported by these
various configurations of the computing device 702 and are not
limited to the specific examples of the techniques described
herein.
[0075] Functionality may also be implemented all or in part through
use of a distributed system, such as over a "cloud" 720 via a
platform 722 as described below. The cloud 720 includes and/or is
representative of a platform 722 for resources 724. The platform
722 abstracts underlying functionality of hardware (e.g., servers)
and software resources of the cloud 720. The resources 724 may
include applications and/or data that can be utilized while
computer processing is executed on servers that are remote from the
computing device 702. Resources 724 can also include services
provided over the Internet and/or through a subscriber network,
such as a cellular or Wi-Fi network.
[0076] The platform 722 may abstract resources and functions to
connect the computing device 702 with other computing devices. The
platform 722 may also serve to abstract scaling of resources to
provide a corresponding level of scale to encountered demand for
the resources 724 that are implemented via the platform 722.
Accordingly, in an interconnected device embodiment, implementation
of functionality described herein may be distributed throughout the
system 700. For example, the functionality may be implemented in
part on the computing device 702 as well as via the platform 722
that abstracts the functionality of the cloud 720.
CONCLUSION
[0077] Although the invention has been described in language
specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is
to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims
is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts
described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as
example forms of implementing the claimed invention.
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