Fan control system using a microcontroller

• US 8,905,721 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2004
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Delta Electronics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Delta Electronics Incorporated
• Inventors: Ma, Wen-Chuan, Kuo, Pou-Tsun, Tsai, Ming-Shi, Huang, Wen-Shi
• Primary Examiner(s): BERTHEAUD, PETER JOHN
• Application Number:
  US10/889,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20040247449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,802 Days
• Field of Search: 417/44.1, 417/42, 361/687, 361/695, 318/254, 318/772
• US Class Current: 417/44.1
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/048 using electrical drives
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/004 by varying driving speed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/206 comprising thermal management
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 6/20 Arrangements for starting H02P6/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 6/26 Arrangements for controlling single phase motors
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 7/29 using pulse modulation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

A fan control system. The fan control system has a programmable microcontroller to receive an input signal and a rotation speed signal corresponding to the actual rotation speed of the fan motor, determining an output signal according to the input signal and the rotation speed signal, and outputting the output signal; and a fan-driving unit to receive the output signal and adjusting the rotation speed for driving the fan motor according to the output signal. The rotation speed is in a relation of a multi-stage function to the input signal.

Claims

1. A fan, comprising:

a fan-driving microcontroller disposed within the fan for receiving an input signal, determining an output signal according to the input signal, the output signal being used to adjust a rotation speed for driving a fan motor, wherein the relation between the rotation speed and the input signal is a curve mathematical function, and the fan-driving microcontroller controls the rotation speed along with the variation of the input signal according to a function operation or reference table,

wherein the relation between the input signal and the output signal is changed from a first curve function to a second curve function when the input signal has exceeded a specific value,

wherein the first curve function has, sequentially, a first value, a first apex and the specific value, and the second curve function has, sequentially, the specific value, a second apex and a second value;

wherein the first apex and the second apex exhibit values higher than the specific value; and

wherein the first apex exhibits a lower value than the second apex.

2. The fan according to claim 1, wherein the first value is lower than the specific value, and the second value is higher than the specific value.

3. The fan according to claim 1, wherein the microcontroller outputs an alarm when the rotation speed signal is different from a preset value stored in a program of the microcontroller.

4. The fan according to claim 1, wherein the input signal is a variable voltage signal, a duty cycle of square wave signal, a frequency of square wave signal, an external pulse width modulation (PWM) signal, or a rotation speed signal obtained by detecting an actual rotation speed of the fan, and

wherein the microcontroller further receives another input signal to control the rotation speed of the fan motor.

5. The fan according to claim 4, wherein the another input signal is a variable voltage signal, an operating or ambient temperature, a duty cycle of square wave signal, a frequency of square wave signal, or a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal.

6. The fan according to claim 1, wherein the output signal is a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal.

7. The fan according to claim 1, further comprising a magnetic induction component or a Hall element for detecting a magnetic field phase of the fan motor for driving the fan motor in order to output the input signal to the microcontroller.