Heat dissipation system for computers

• US 8,150,561 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2009
• Issued: 04/03/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2008
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Lenovo PC International Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Lenovo Singapore Pte Limited (Lenovo Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shimotono, Susumu, Nakamura, Fusanobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Decady, Albert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Garland, Steven
• Application Number:
  US12/503,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20100030395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 700/299, 700/300, 702/130, 702/132, 713/300, 713/322
• US Class Current: 700/300
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A heat dissipation system within a housing of a computer is disclosed. The heat dissipation system includes a heat dissipating fan, a temperature sensor, a rotation speed setting portion, and a performance control portion. The rotation speed setting portion is configured to change a rotation speed of the heat dissipating fan in a stepwise manner based on a threshold temperature and a measurement temperature measured by the temperature sensor. The performance control portion is configured to temporarily reduce the processing capability of a processor within the computer in response to a determination that the measurement temperature has exceeded the threshold temperature during a predetermined period of time.

Claims

1. A heat dissipation system within a housing of a computer, said heat dissipation system comprising:

a heat dissipating fan;

a temperature sensor;

a rotation speed setting portion configured to change a rotation speed of said heat dissipating fan in a stepwise manner based on a threshold temperature and a measurement temperature measured by said temperature sensor; and

a performance control portion configured to temporarily reduce the processing capability of a processor within said computer in response to a determination that said measurement temperature has exceeded said threshold temperature during a predetermined period of time, wherein said performance control portion includes;

a temperature prediction portion configured to determine a prediction time required for said measurement temperature to exceed said threshold temperature when current processing capability is maintained, based on said measurement temperature, an increase rate of said measurement temperature, and said threshold temperature; and

a processing capability setting portion configured to change said processing capability of said processor based on said prediction time.

2. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said processing capability setting portion executes reducing, maintaining or increasing of said processing capability based on said prediction time.

3. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said processing capability setting portion determines an amount of reduction in said processing capability based on said prediction time and a utilization rate of said processor.

4. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said processing capability setting portion produces a corrected prediction time, which is corrected from said prediction time, based on utilization rate of said processor and reduces said processing capability by a minimum unit amount based on said corrected prediction time.

5. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, further comprising a performance determining portion configured to determine a performance characteristic value on the basis of a period of time during which said processing capability is reduced from that in a normal state and an amount of reduction in said processing capability and to issue a performance precedence command to said processing capability setting portion, and said processing capability setting portion causing said processor to return to the normal state or a state equivalent thereto on the basis of said performance precedence command.

6. The heat dissipation system of claim 5, further comprising a user interface portion configured to produce a setting screen, on which a user inputs a threshold value for generating said performance precedence command based on said performance characteristic value, and to deliver said threshold value to said performance determining portion.

7. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said temperature prediction portion determines a new prediction time for a new threshold temperature after the rotation speed of said heat dissipating fan is changed by said rotation speed setting portion, and said processing capability setting portion changes said processing capability of said processor based on said new prediction time.

8. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said threshold temperature includes a first threshold value which serves as a reference for increasing the rotation speed of the heat dissipating fan from a first rotation speed to a second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed and a second threshold value which is smaller than the first threshold value and serves as a reference for decreasing the rotation speed from the second rotation speed to the first rotation speed.

9. The heat dissipation system of claim 1, wherein said threshold temperature is set so that a housing temperature of said computer is suppressed to a predetermined value or less.

10. A heat dissipation method for a computer comprising:

obtaining a measurement temperature of a computer by a temperature sensor;

changing a rotation speed of a heat dissipating fan in a stepwise manner based on a threshold temperature and a measurement temperature measured by said temperature sensor;

determining whether or not said measurement temperature has exceeded said threshold temperature in a predetermined period of time, wherein said determining further includes determining a prediction time required for said measurement temperature to exceed said threshold temperature when current processing capability of a processor is maintained, based on said measurement temperature, an increase rate of said measurement temperature, and said threshold temperature; and

in response to a determination that said measurement temperature has exceeded said threshold temperature, temporarily reducing the processing capability of a processor within said computer based on said prediction time.

11. The heat dissipation method of claim 10, further comprising in response to a determination that said measurement temperature has not exceeded said threshold temperature, increasing or maintaining said processing capability.

12. The heat dissipation method of claim 11, wherein said determining, said reducing and said increasing or maintaining step are executed based on a new threshold temperature for each of changed rotation speeds.

13. The heat dissipation method of claim 10, further comprising determining an amount of reduction in said processing capability based on a utilization rate of said processor.

14. The heat dissipation method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining a performance characteristic value on the basis of a period of time during which said processing capability is reduced and a degree of reduction in said processing capability; and

causing said processor to return to a normal state on the basis of said performance characteristic value.

15. The heat dissipation method of claim 14, further comprising receiving a threshold value of said computer for said performance characteristic value from a user.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium having a computer program product for performing heat dissipation on a computer having a processor capable of changing its processing capability, a heat dissipating fan, and a temperature sensor, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code for obtaining a measurement temperature of a computer by a temperature sensor;

computer program code for changing a rotation speed of a heat dissipating fan in a stepwise manner based on a threshold temperature and a measurement temperature measured by said temperature sensor;

computer program code for determining whether or not said measurement temperature has exceeded said threshold temperature in a predetermined period of time, wherein said determining further includes determining a prediction time required for said measurement temperature to exceed said threshold temperature when current processing capability is maintained, based on said measurement temperature, an increase rate of said measurement temperature, and said threshold temperature; and

computer program code for, in response to a determination that said measurement temperature has exceeded said threshold temperature, temporarily reducing the processing capability of a processor within said computer based on said prediction time.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising computer program code for, in response to a determination that said measurement temperature has not exceeded said threshold temperature, increasing or maintaining said processing capability.