US6058012A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Apparatus, method and system for thermal management of an electronic system having semiconductor devices
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Development Co LP
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Filing: 1998-04-27
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Granted: 2000-05-02
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Expires: 2018-04-27
Abstract
Abstract A thermal management controller to regulate the operating temperature of high speed, high circuit density semiconductor dice in an electronic product. The thermal management controller monitors the temperature of a heat sink in thermal contact with the high speed, high circuit density semiconductor dice and also monitors the operational status of one or more specified devices which may increase the heat load within the electronic product. As the temperature of the heat sink increases and/or as specified devices increase the heat load in the electronic product, the thermal management controller will start cooling fans and/or increases the speed of the cooling fans to increase heat removal from the electronic product by forced convection. As the temperature of the heat sink decreases and/or as specified devices cease contributing to the heat load in the electronic product, the thermal management controller will decrease the speed of the cooling fans and/or turn off the cooling fans to decrease heat removal from the electronic product. If the temperature of the heat sink rises above a predetermined temperature, the thermal management structure will reduce the clock speed of the semiconductor dice. If the temperature of the heat sink rises above a predetermined maximum temperature, the thermal management structure will turn of the semiconductor dice.
Inventors
- 👤 Patrick R. Cooper
- 👤 William C. Hallowell
- 👤 Mark S. Tracy
- 👤 Curtis Progl
- 👤 Minh H. Nguyen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 17:20
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F1/00; G06F1/16; G06F1/20; G06F1/203; G06F1/206; H; H05; H05K; H05K7/00; H05K7/20; H05K7/20709; H05K7/20718; H05K7/20727; H10; H10W; H10W40/00; H10W40/60; H10W40/611; H10W40/20; H10W40/231; H10W40/233; H10W40/242
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 39
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
A thermal management controller, the thermal management controller comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; and the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
A thermal management controller, the thermal management controller comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; and the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the control bus is a digital bus.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the control bus is an integrated interconnect control bus.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the at least one semiconductor having a clock speed regulator, the regulator electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is an unpackaged semiconductor die.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
25 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is a packaged semiconductor die.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
24 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is a microprocessor die.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, further comprising: a battery charger, the battery charger electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one specified device, the at least one specified device electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
The thermal management controller according to claim 9, wherein the at least one specified device is selected from the group consisting of a CD-ROM drive, a hard disk drive, a removable disk drive, and a PCMCIA card.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
151 words
A method of controlling forced convection heat removal from an electronic product, comprising the steps of: providing a thermal management structure, the thermal management structure having a substrate with at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed and thermally connecting to two heat sink pieces; providing a temperature sensor, a digital bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, each having digital signal connections; providing a variable speed fan; thermally connecting the temperature sensor to the thermal management structure, and connecting the digital connections of the temperature sensor to the digital bus; connecting the digital connections of the hardware control processor to the digital bus; connecting the digital connections of the variable output voltage power supply to the digital bus, the variable output voltage power supply having electric power output connections; and electrically connecting the variable speed fan to the electric power output connections of the power supply.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
151 words
A method of controlling forced convection heat removal from an electronic product, comprising the steps of: providing a thermal management structure, the thermal management structure having a substrate with at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed and thermally connecting to two heat sink pieces; providing a temperature sensor, a digital bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, each having digital signal connections; providing a variable speed fan; thermally connecting the temperature sensor to the thermal management structure, and connecting the digital connections of the temperature sensor to the digital bus; connecting the digital connections of the hardware control processor to the digital bus; connecting the digital connections of the variable output voltage power supply to the digital bus, the variable output voltage power supply having electric power output connections; and electrically connecting the variable speed fan to the electric power output connections of the power supply.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
101 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: the temperature sensor transmitting a temperature value to the digital bus; the hardware control processor receiving the temperature value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a fan speed logic value corresponding to the temperature value; the hardware control processor sending the fan speed logic value to the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply receiving the fan speed logic value from the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply adjusting the output voltage across the electric power output connections; and the variable speed fan changing speed.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: providing a clock speed regulator for regulating the clock speed of the at least one semiconductor die, the clock speed regulator having digital connections; and connecting the digital connections of the clock speed regulator to the digital bus.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
148 words
The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of: the temperature sensor transmitting a temperature value to the digital bus; the hardware control processor receiving the temperature value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a fan speed logic value corresponding to the temperature value; the hardware control processor calculating a clock speed value corresponding to the temperature value; the hardware control processor sending the fan speed logic value and the clock speed value to the digital bus; the clock speed regulator receiving the clock speed value from the digital bus; the clock speed regulator adjusting the clock speed of the at least one semiconductor die; the variable output voltage power supply receiving the fan speed logic value from the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply adjusting the output voltage across the electric power output connections; and the variable speed fan changing speed.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: providing a battery charger having digital connections; and connecting the digital connections of the battery charger to the digital bus.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
143 words
The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: the temperature sensor transmitting a temperature value to the digital bus; The battery charger sending a status value to the digital bus; the hardware control processor receiving the temperature value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a first fan speed logic value corresponding to the temperature value; the hardware control processor receiving the status value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a second fan speed logic value corresponding to the status value; the hardware control processor sending the second fan speed logic value to the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply receiving the second fan speed logic value from the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply adjusting the output voltage across the electric power output connections; and the variable speed fan changing speed.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of: providing a specified device having digital connections; and connecting the digital connections of the specified device to the digital bus.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
143 words
The method of claim 17, further comprising the steps of: the temperature sensor transmitting a temperature value to the digital bus; The specified device sending a status value to the digital bus; the hardware control processor receiving the temperature value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a first fan speed logic value corresponding to the temperature value; the hardware control processor receiving the status value from the digital bus; the hardware control processor calculating a second fan speed logic value corresponding to the status value; the hardware control processor sending the second fan speed logic value to the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply receiving the second fan speed logic value from the digital bus; the variable output voltage power supply adjusting the output voltage across the electric power output connections; and the variable speed fan changing speed.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
190 words
An electronic system for thermal management, the electronic system comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply, thereby forming a thermal management controller; and an electronic system having a plurality of electrical terminals, signal terminals and a chassis, the plurality of electrical terminals interconnected to the substrate, the plurality of signal terminals interconnected to the substrate, and the chassis containing the thermal management controller.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
190 words
An electronic system for thermal management, the electronic system comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having at least one semiconductor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply, thereby forming a thermal management controller; and an electronic system having a plurality of electrical terminals, signal terminals and a chassis, the plurality of electrical terminals interconnected to the substrate, the plurality of signal terminals interconnected to the substrate, and the chassis containing the thermal management controller.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the control bus is a digital bus.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
17 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the control bus is an integrated interconnect control bus.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
26 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one semiconductor having a clock speed regulator, the regulator electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
24 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is an unpackaged semiconductor die.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
24 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is a packaged semiconductor die.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
23 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one semiconductor die of the thermal management structure is a microprocessor die.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
21 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, further comprising: a battery charger, the battery charger electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
26 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, further comprising: at least one specified device, the at least one specified device electrically connected to the control bus.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
36 words
The electronic system according to claim 19, wherein the at least one specified device is selected from the group consisting of a CD-ROM drive, a hard disk drive, a removable disk drive, and a PCMCIA card.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
15 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a lap top computer.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
14 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a notebook computer.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
14 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a sub-notebook computer.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
14 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a desktop computer.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
13 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a printer.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
13 words
The electronic system of claim 19, wherein the electronic system is a scanner.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
188 words
A computer system for thermal management, the computer system comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having a microprocessor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply, thereby forming a thermal management controller; and a computer system having a plurality of electrical terminals, signal terminals and a chassis, the plurality of electrical terminals interconnected to the substrate, the plurality of signal terminals interconnected to the substrate, and the chassis containing the thermal management controller.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
188 words
A computer system for thermal management, the computer system comprising: a thermal management structure, a temperature sensor, a control bus, a hardware control processor, a variable output voltage power supply, and a variable speed fan; the thermal management structure having a substrate and two heat sink pieces, the substrate having a microprocessor die, the substrate interposed between and thermally connected to the two heat sink pieces; the temperature sensor thermally connected to one of the two heat sink pieces, the temperature sensor electrically connected to the control bus; the hardware control processor electrically connected to the control bus; the variable output voltage power supply, the power supply having electric power output connections and a digital pot, the digital pot electrically connected to the control bus; the variable speed fan electrically connected to the electric power output connections of the power supply, thereby forming a thermal management controller; and a computer system having a plurality of electrical terminals, signal terminals and a chassis, the plurality of electrical terminals interconnected to the substrate, the plurality of signal terminals interconnected to the substrate, and the chassis containing the thermal management controller.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-05-02 | 2003-11-01 | 2004-05-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-05-02 | 2007-11-01 | 2008-05-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-05-02 | 2011-11-01 | 2012-05-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |