Patent ID: 7348743
Filing Date: 2008-03-25
Classification: F28F,G06F

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for use with a computer, comprising: a power source; a system board, coupled to the power source and disposed within the computer, on which an electrical component, which controls operations of the computer, is installed; a heat sink including a plurality of heat transfer surfaces which are configured to contact the electrical component and to thereby remove heat from the electrical component; a fan reversing control card coupled to the system board and configured to generate normal and reverse cycle rotation signals in predetermined intervals; and a fan coupled to the fan reversing control card and configured to receive the normal and reverse cycle rotation signals and to thereby operate in normal and reverse cycles in which the fan rotates in first and second directions, respectively, the fan being disposed within the computer sufficiently proximate to the heat transfer surfaces such that the first and second directional rotations of the fan generate air flows in first and second directions with respect to the heat transfer surfaces, respectively; wherein the fan reversing control card is either built directly into the system board or is attached to the system board via a four-wire fan connector; which comprises a voltage carrying wire; a grounded wire; a tachometer output wire by which the fan signals an actual speed of rotations of the fan during the normal and reverse cycles of the fan; and a pulse width modulation (PWM) wire by which the fan reversing control card, which compares the actual speed of rotation with a desired speed, transmits speed-up, slow-down or reverse cycle initiating instructions to the fan via a PWM signal.