JPH08106776A - Modules for electronic devices - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Object] The present invention relates to an electronic device module including a cooling fan, and an object thereof is to improve cooling capacity and reduce noise. [Structure] The disk drive units 23, 24 and the like and a power supply unit 27 are arranged in the case 22 from the intake port 29 to the exhaust port 31, and a high speed fan 33 is arranged between the disk drive units 23, 24 and the power supply unit 27 inside. At the same time, the low-speed fan 34 is arranged on the exhaust port 31 side outside the power supply unit 27.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device module having a cooling fan. In recent years, when a magnetic disk module is taken as an example of a module for an electronic device, the magnetic disk module is composed of a disk drive unit accommodating a magnetic disk and a head assembly, a printed circuit board for controlling the disk drive unit, and a power supply unit. A cooling fan for cooling the inside of the module is provided to reduce the influence of heat generation from the power supply unit. Such cooling means is required to have improved cooling capacity as the packaging density in the module increases. Therefore, it is necessary to deal with the generation of noise caused by the improvement of the cooling capacity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional magnetic disk module. In the magnetic disk module 11 shown in FIG. 12, the disk drive unit 13 is arranged inside the case 12 on the side of the intake port 12a, and the exhaust port 1
The power supply unit 14 is arranged on the 2b side. Further, a cooling fan 15 is provided near the power supply unit 14 and on the exhaust port 12b side.

The disk drive unit 13 is composed of, for example, one disk drive using a predetermined number of 8-inch magnetic disks and a control printed circuit board for the disk drive. That is, the cooling fan 15 circulates air from the intake port 12a side to the exhaust port 12b side to release the heat generated from the power supply unit 14 from the exhaust port 12b, thereby reducing the influence on the disk drive unit 13. is there.

Such a magnetic disk module 11
Are mounted in a predetermined number on a magnetic disk device as an external storage device of a computer.

[0005]

By the way, there is a demand for a large capacity and a small size of a magnetic disk device, and for that purpose, a magnetic disk device in which two sets of disk drive units and a control printed board thereof are arranged in one case 12 is required. Disk modules have been proposed. For example, when two sets of magnetic disk modules using 5-inch magnetic disks are mounted in the case 12, the size thereof is the same as the size of a module mounting one set of magnetic disk drives using 8-inch magnetic disks. be able to. That is, the capacity can be increased without increasing the size of the device.

However, cooling two sets of magnetic disk modules with one cooling fan has a problem that the cooling capacity is deteriorated due to insufficient air flow, and mounting two cooling fans increases noise. There is a problem.
Further, not only the magnetic disk module but also an electronic device module that requires cooling can be equipped with two cooling fans to improve the cooling capacity.
As described in JP-A-209988 and JP-A-58-63197, there is a problem in that noise increases, and at the same time, the module, and hence the device, are increased in size at the positions where the two cooling fans are arranged. There's a problem.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device module for improving cooling capacity and reducing noise.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in claim 1, an intake port for sucking in air, an exhaust port for discharging air, a driving means of a predetermined function to be cooled, and the driving means. A predetermined number of cooled parts having at least drive control means for controlling, a power supply unit serving as a power source of the cooled parts, arranged between the cooled part and the power supply unit, and circulating air. A predetermined number of first cooling means for cooling the cooled portion; a predetermined number of second cooling means arranged outside the cooled portion and the power supply unit to cool the cooled portion; And a cooling control unit that drives the first cooling unit at a predetermined speed and drives the second cooling unit at a lower speed than that of the first cooling unit, thereby configuring an electronic device module.

According to a second aspect, the second cooling means according to the first aspect is provided near the exhaust port. In claim 3, an exhaust vent for assisting exhaust is provided in the vicinity of the second cooling means according to claim 1 or 2, and in claim 4, in any one of claims 1 to 3. A power supply vent is provided near the exhaust vent in the unit.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the second cooling means according to the first aspect is provided in the vicinity of the intake port, and an intake vent port for assisting intake is provided at a predetermined position. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the driving means having the predetermined function is configured by a predetermined number of recording / reproducing units for recording / reproducing information on / from a recording medium. In a seventh aspect, the recording medium of the sixth aspect is composed of a magnetic disk.

In claim 8, in claim 6 or 7,
The recording / reproducing unit is provided with a predetermined number of 5-inch magnetic disk recording media and is arranged in plural. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, temperature detection means for detecting the internal temperature is provided at a predetermined position, and the cooling control means sets the speed difference between the first and second cooling means according to the detected temperature. It is configured to control while maintaining.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the first or the ninth aspect, the cooling control means is configured to provide a normal speed of the first or second cooling means when any one of the first and second cooling means fails. Is configured to control at high speed.

[0013]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the predetermined number of first cooling means arranged between the power source unit and the cooled portion having at least the driving means and the drive control means are provided. A predetermined number of second cooling means driven at a lower speed than the first cooling means are provided on the outside. As a result, the cooling capacity is improved by the plurality of cooling means, and the noise can be reduced by driving the second cooling means at a low speed.

According to the second to fourth aspects of the invention, the second cooling means is arranged in the vicinity of the exhaust port, and the exhaust ventilation port and the power supply ventilation port are appropriately provided. As a result, the second cooling unit is driven at a low speed, noise is reduced, and exhaust efficiency and cooling capacity can be improved by the exhaust vent and the power vent. In the invention of claim 5, the second cooling means is arranged in the vicinity of the intake port, and the intake ventilation port is provided at a predetermined position. As a result, even in the vicinity of the intake port, the second cooling unit is driven at a low speed and noise can be reduced.

According to the present invention, a plurality of 5-inch magnetic disks are provided and a plurality of them are arranged with the driving means as a recording / reproducing unit. As a result, the present invention can be applied to a recording / reproducing apparatus using a magnetic disk as a recording medium to improve cooling capacity and reduce noise. In the invention of claim 9, the cooling control means controls the speeds of the first and second cooling means according to the temperature detected by the temperature detection means while maintaining the speed difference. This makes it possible to improve the cooling efficiency while maintaining the noise reduction due to the speed difference between the first and second cooling means.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the cooling control means drives the normal one at a high speed when any one of the first and second cooling means fails. As a result, a redundant configuration that maintains the cooling capacity becomes possible.

[0017]

1 is a perspective view showing the construction of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a magnetic disk module 21 as a module for an electronic device, which includes a case 22 having a front end 22a and a rear end 22b, and two disk drive units 23 and 24 housed in the case 22.
And disk drive units 23 and 2 which are drive means
Two printed boards 25 and 26 which constitute a drive control means housed in the case 22 for controlling the respective four.
And a power supply unit 27. Further, another printed board 28 is fixed to the disk drive units 23 and 24. These disk drive units 23, 2
4, the printed board 25, 26, 28 (including a mother board which will be described later) and the like constitute a cooled portion.

A front end portion 22a of the case 22 is an intake port 29 which is opened, and the disk drive units 23 and 24 are provided.
The printed boards 25 and 26 can be inserted or removed from the air inlet 29. The disk drive units 23 and 24 can slide along guide plates (not shown) provided on the bottom of the case 22, respectively, and the printed boards 25 and 26 can be guided by guide grooves (not shown) provided on the top and bottom of the case 22, respectively. ) Can slide along.

An end wall 22c of the rear end 22b of the case 22
The connector 30 is provided on the end wall 22c.
An exhaust port (not shown in the figure, see FIG. 4) 31 is opened in the. Motherboard 32 as a support plate is case 22
It is attached to the inside of the case laterally with respect to the longitudinal axis of the case 22. The disk drive units 23, 24 and the printed boards 25, 26 are on the front side (exhaust port side) of the mother board 32 and extend parallel to each other and in the longitudinal direction of the case 22. The power supply unit 27 is a motherboard 32
It is on the rear side (intake side).

A high-speed fan (for example, a DC brushless motor) 33, which is the first cooling means, is provided internally between the parts to be cooled (disk drive units 23, 24, etc.) and the power supply unit 27, and the power supply is provided. A low speed fan (for example, a DC brushless motor) 3 serving as a second cooling unit is provided near the exhaust port (31) outside the unit 27.
4 are provided. The high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 3
Although not shown, 4 is detachably attached with a screw.

These high speed fan 33 and low speed fan 34
The rotation is controlled by a rotation control circuit (described in FIG. 5) which is a cooling control means that is appropriately provided on another printed board or the mother board 32, for example. A temperature sensor (not shown, see FIG. 5) is arranged at a predetermined position in the case 22.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the motherboard shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the motherboard 32 has connectors 41a to 41d on the front side and the connector 4 on the rear side.
2a and 42b. A cable (not shown) connects the connectors 42a, 42b on the rear surface side of the motherboard 32, the connector 30 and the power supply unit 27. Other suitable connectors can be provided on the rear side.

Returning to FIG. 1, connectors 43a and 43b are provided at the rear end portions of the disk drive units 23 and 24, and the connectors 43a and 43b can be plug-in connected to the connectors 41a and 41b of the motherboard 32.
At the rear end of each printed board 25, 26 is a connector 44a,
44b is provided, and the connectors 44a and 44b can be plug-in connected to the connectors 41c and 41d of the mother board 32.

The mother board 32 is connected to both side walls, a top wall and a bottom wall of the case 22 and has an opening 32a for passing cooling air. Further, FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of the disk drive unit of FIG. 3A is an external view, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a magnetic disk and a magnetic head. In FIG. 3A, the disk drive unit 23 (24) includes a 5-inch magnetic disk 51, which is a plurality of recording media, and a plurality of magnetic heads for accessing each magnetic disk 51, as shown in FIG. 3B. 52 and 52 are enclosed in an enclosure. As is well known, a plurality of magnetic disks 51 are attached to a rotating shaft 53 to rotate, and a plurality of magnetic heads 52 are connected to an actuator arm 54.
Is attached to.

Returning to FIG. 3A, a tab 55 is provided on the front end side of the disc drive unit 23 (24) for pushing or pulling the disc drive unit 23 (24) back and forth by hand. Disk drive unit 23
The printed board 20 is attached to the side surface of (24), and the connector 43a (43b) is attached to the rear end side.

Such a magnetic disk module 21
Is to be inserted into a cabinet in a magnetic disk device by a predetermined number and connected by a plug-in. Therefore, FIG. 4 shows an explanatory diagram of the fan drive of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the magnetic disk module 21 of FIG. 1, and when the magnetic disk module 21 is powered on, the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 are rotationally driven. For example, the rotation speed of the high speed fan 33 is set to 2230 rpm or more, and the rotation speed of the low speed fan 34 is set to 1530 rpm.

That is, since the air is circulated and cooled by the two high-speed fans 33 and the low-speed fan 34, even if the number of disk drive units is increased to two in the same space (the conventional 8-inch disk drive unit 1
Table), the cooling capacity is improved, and noise can be reduced by disposing the low-speed fan 34 outside the power supply unit 27.

If there is enough space, one or more of a high speed fan and a low speed fan may be installed. Next, FIG. 5 shows a circuit block diagram of the fan drive. FIG. 5 shows a cooling control circuit 61 which is a cooling control means. In FIG. 5, the rotation signals of the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 are input to the rotation pulse detection circuit 62, and the pulses detected here are input to the counting circuit 63. The count value of the counting circuit 63 is input to the comparison circuit 64, and the comparison circuit 64 compares the reference value (initial setting value and failure determination value). In this case, the counting circuit 63 and the comparison circuit 64 perform counting and comparison for the time set by the timer 65.

The comparison result of the comparison circuit 64 is the rotation control circuit 6
6, the rotation control circuit 66 sends a rotation control signal of a predetermined speed to the high-speed fan 33 and the low-speed fan 34 according to the comparison result, and when necessary (for example, at the time of failure).
Display and report to the host device. On the other hand, the temperature sensor 67 is provided in the magnetic disk module 21 as described above, and the detected value from the temperature sensor 67 is sent to the temperature determination circuit 68. The temperature judgment circuit 68 judges whether or not the temperature rise is abnormal by comparison with the reference temperature, and sends the result to the rotation control circuit 66. The temperature sensor 67 and the temperature determination circuit 68 constitute a temperature detecting means.

In such a cooling control circuit 61, the rotation control circuit 66 outputs a rotation control signal for driving the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 at the initial set circuit speed to the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34, respectively. To do. For example, as described above, the rotation speed of the high-speed fan 3 is set to 2230.
A rotation control signal for rotating the rpm and the rotation speed of the low-speed fan 34 at 1530 rpm is output.

The rotation speeds of the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 are maintained by a feedback system including a rotation pulse detection circuit 62, a counting circuit 63, and a comparison circuit 64. Further, FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the rotation control by temperature in FIG. In FIG. 6, the magnetic disk module 21
The internal temperature is detected by the temperature sensor 67 (step (S) 1), and the temperature determination circuit 68 compares it with a reference temperature (a temperature at which normal operation is possible) to determine whether the temperature is abnormal (S2).

If the detected temperature is equal to or lower than the reference temperature, the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 in the rotation control circuit 66.
The rotation speed of is maintained at the initial set speed (S3). On the other hand, when the detected temperature is equal to or higher than the reference temperature and is abnormal, the rotation control circuit 66 increases the rotation speeds of the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 at the same rate (S4), and the above is repeated.

That is, as the temperature rises, the rotation speeds of the high-speed fan 33 and the low-speed fan 34 can be increased while maintaining the speed difference to improve the cooling capacity, and the noise due to the increase of the rotation speed also increases. Since the external fan is the low speed fan 34, noise can be reduced as compared with the case where the fans of the bases have the same rotation speed. Subsequently, FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the rotation control in the redundancy of FIG. The control for this redundancy is performed by the high-speed fan 3
3 or the low-speed fan 34 fails, the disk drive units 23, 24 are affected by an abnormal temperature rise.
It is intended to prevent the printed circuit boards 25 and 26 of the control system from being affected.

In FIG. 7, the rotation signals of the high speed fan 33 and the low speed fan 34 are input to the rotation pulse detection circuit 62, and the rotation pulse is detected (step (S) 1
1). Then, the detected rotation pulse is counted by the counting circuit 63 (S12), and the count value is compared with the reference value (reference rotation speed) by the comparison circuit 64. In this case, the timer 65
Causes the counting circuit 63 to perform a counting operation for a certain period of time (for example, 1 second), and after a certain period of time has elapsed, the comparing circuit 64 causes the comparing operation.

Therefore, in the comparison circuit 64, if the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process returns to S11, and if it has elapsed, the count value and the reference value are compared (S13). As a result of the comparison, when the number of rotation pulses is equal to or more than the predetermined value, both are normal, and the pulse detection by the rotation pulse detection circuit 62 is continued (S14). Here, for example, the high-speed fan 3
If a failure occurs in No. 3, the rotation speed of the high-speed fan 33 decreases, so the count value of the detection pulse in the comparison circuit 64 becomes smaller than the reference value, and the result is sent to the rotation control circuit 66 (S14).

The rotation control circuit displays the fact that the high-speed fan 33 has failed, reports to the host device, etc., and speeds up the normal low-speed fan 34 to prevent the cooling capacity from deteriorating due to the failure. (S15). Next, FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the first embodiment. Further, FIG. 9 shows an explanatory diagram of the fan drive of FIG.

The magnetic disk module 21 shown in FIG.
Exhaust vents 71a and 71b are provided on both sides of the case 22 in the vicinity of the low speed fan 34, and the exhaust vents 71a are provided on both sides of the power supply unit 27 in the vicinity of the exhaust vents 71a and 71b. , 71b are provided with power supply vents 27a, 27b, and other configurations are the same as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, a part of the air volume of the high speed fan 33 is supplied to the power supply vents 27a and 27b and the exhaust vent 71.
The air is exhausted via the a and 71b, and the exhaust efficiency is improved by assisting the part that is partially suppressed by the low-speed fan 34 by the exhaust vents 71a and 71b, and thus the cooling capacity can be further improved. Also in this case, the low-speed fan 34 is arranged on the exhaust port 31 side to reduce noise.

Next, FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of the configuration of the second embodiment of the present invention. Further, FIG. 11 shows an explanatory diagram of the fan drive of FIG. The magnetic disk module 21 shown in FIG.
The air intake vents 72a and 72b are provided near the low speed fan 34 on both side surfaces of the case 22 while being provided in the vicinity of the air intake port 29 on the outside of 3, 24.
Is the same as

As shown in FIG. 11, the low speed fan 34 sucks the air at the intake port 29 side at a low speed to circulate the air in the case 22, and the high speed fan 33 inside passes the power supply unit 27 at a high speed to the exhaust port. The air is exhausted from 31 for cooling. In this case, the inner high speed fan 33 is driven at high speed,
Since the intake air is not in time, the intake air vents 72a, 72a
It assists the intake from b.

Even with such a structure, the cooling capacity can be improved, and noise can be reduced because the low-speed fan 34 is arranged outside. Although the first and second embodiments have been described as applied to the magnetic disk module 21,
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to electronic device modules that require cooling.

[0042]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a predetermined number of first cooling means are arranged between the power source unit and the cooled portion having at least the driving means and the drive control means. And a predetermined number of second cooling means that are driven at a lower speed than the first cooling means are provided on the outside, the cooling capacity is improved by the plurality of cooling means, and the second cooling means is driven at a low speed. Therefore, noise can be reduced.

According to the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, the second cooling means is arranged in the vicinity of the exhaust port, and the exhaust vent hole and the power supply vent hole are appropriately provided, so that the second cooling means can be driven at a low speed. Therefore, noise can be reduced, and exhaust efficiency and cooling capacity can be improved by the exhaust ventilation port and the power supply ventilation port. According to the invention of claim 5, the second cooling means is arranged near the intake port, and the intake vent hole is provided at a predetermined position, so that the second cooling means can be driven at a low speed even near the intake port. Yes Noise can be reduced.

According to the present invention, the driving means is a recording / reproducing unit, and a predetermined number of 5-inch magnetic disks are provided and a plurality of them are arranged. This makes it possible to improve the cooling capacity and reduce noise. According to the invention of claim 9, the cooling control means controls the speeds of the first and second cooling means in accordance with the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means while maintaining the speed difference, whereby the first and second coolings are performed. It is possible to improve the cooling efficiency while maintaining the noise reduction due to the speed difference of the means.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the cooling control means drives the normal one at a high speed when one of the first and second cooling means fails, thereby providing a redundant structure for maintaining the cooling capacity. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the motherboard of FIG.

3 is a block diagram of the disk drive unit of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of driving the fan of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram of a fan drive.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of rotation control based on temperature in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of rotation control in the redundancy of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration perspective view of another embodiment of the first embodiment.

9 is an explanatory diagram of driving the fan of FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a configuration perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of driving the fan in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional magnetic disk module.

[Explanation of symbols]

 21 magnetic disk module 22 case 23, 24 disk drive unit 25, 26, 28 printed board 27 power supply unit 27a, 27b power supply ventilation hole 29 intake port 30 connector 31 exhaust port 32 motherboard 33 high speed fan 34 low speed fan 71a, 71b exhaust ventilation port 72a , 72b Intake vent

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An intake port for sucking in air, an exhaust port for exhausting air, and a predetermined number of cooled parts which are equipped with at least a driving means having a predetermined function to be cooled and a drive control means for controlling the driving means. A power supply unit serving as a power source for the cooled portion, a predetermined number of first cooling means arranged between the cooled portion and the power supply unit for circulating air to cool the cooled portion, A predetermined number of second cooling means arranged outside the cooled portion and the power supply unit to cool the cooled portion, and the first cooling means are driven at a predetermined speed, and the second cooling means is provided. And a cooling control unit that drives the device at a lower speed than the first cooling unit. 2. A module for an electronic device, wherein the second cooling means according to claim 1 is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port. 3. A module for an electronic device, wherein an exhaust vent for assisting exhaust is provided in the vicinity of the second cooling means according to claim 1. 4. The electronic device module according to claim 1, wherein a power supply vent is provided near the exhaust vent in the power supply unit. 5. A module for an electronic device, wherein the second cooling means according to claim 1 is provided in the vicinity of the intake port, and an intake vent hole for assisting intake is provided at a predetermined position. 6. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the driving means having the predetermined function is composed of a predetermined number of recording / reproducing units for recording / reproducing information on / from a recording medium. module. 7. A module for an electronic device, wherein the recording medium according to claim 6 is composed of a magnetic disk. 8. The electronic device module according to claim 6, wherein the recording / reproducing unit is provided with a plurality of 5-inch magnetic disk recording media and a plurality of recording media are arranged. 9. The temperature detecting means for detecting the internal temperature is provided at a predetermined position, and the cooling control means determines the speed difference between the speeds of the first and second cooling means in accordance with the detected temperature. A module for an electronic device, which is configured to be controlled while being maintained. 10. The cooling control means according to claim 1, wherein the cooling control means controls the speed of the normal first or second cooling means at a high speed when any one of the first and second cooling means fails. An electronic device module having the above-mentioned configuration.