Abstract:
A system for using a plenum to cool components of the system is described. The plenum distributes air to local hot spots of the system which are remote from a fan source. A central processing fan, a separate system fan, or an external air source may be used to generate the air to be distributed.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention pertains to the field of computer design. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for cooling a computer system using a plenum with orifices over selected components.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A computer system typically comprises a plurality of electronic components. Such components may include a central processing unit (CPU), a chipset, and a memory. During operation, the components typically dissipate heat. In addition, the conversion of AC input power to DC is also known to generate heat in a computer system. If the CPU, or any other electronic component, becomes overheated, performance may suffer and the component&#39;s life may be depreciated.  
           [0003]    A fan is often used to cool electronic components of a computer system. One common cooling method is pressurization. In pressurization, fresh air is provided directly to the fan from the outside. The air is then pushed over the computer components with a fan.  
           [0004]    Another common cooling method is evacuation or evacuating flow. In evacuation, air is provided to the computer system, dragged over the components, and then fed to a fan. The fan then pushes the air out of the system.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]    The embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way of example and not in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:  
         [0006]    [0006]FIG. 1 is a flowchart for implementing an embodiment of a plenum-based computer cooling system;  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 2 is a side view of an embodiment of a computer system that utilizes plenum-based cooling; and  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 3 is an overhead view of an embodiment of a computer system that utilizes plenum-based cooling.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0009]    In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.  
         [0010]    The placement of components on a motherboard for one computer system may be different from the placement of components for another computer system. For example, a first chipset on a first motherboard may be located near the CPU fan in a pressurized cooling system. In contrast, a second chipset on a second motherboard may be located at a location away from the CPU fan. Thus, because the second chipset is farther away from the CPU fan, the second chipset may be more difficult to cool than the first chipset. The traditional cooling system of a computer system pushes or pulls air through the system in an arbitrary fashion regardless of the location of the components that require cooling.  
         [0011]    For one embodiment of the invention, cool air is supplied by a plenum to each component of a computer system that requires cooling. The plenum may be plastic, metal, a polyester film such as Mylar, or any other material capable of distributing air. A flowchart of this embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG. 1. The computer system may be a laptop or a desktop computer.  
         [0012]    In operation  100 , the locations of components of the computer system that require cooling are determined. The plenum is located above the components as shown in FIG. 2. The location of the plenum in the computer system with respect to other parts of the computer system will be described in further detail below. Apertures are formed in the plenum in operation  110  over the components that require cooling. The size of each aperture may depend on the cooling requirements of the corresponding component to be cooled. For example, a larger orifice may be needed to cool a component that generates a high heat load than a component that generates a moderate heat load. Thus, the cooling requirements of each component may be considered when sizing the apertures.  
         [0013]    The plenum is then pressurized with air to cool the selected components in operation  120 . Operation  130  determines if the components are being adequately cooled. A thermostat or heat sensor may be used to track the temperature of each of the components. If the components are being adequately cooled, then the air pressure is maintained to each of the components in operation  140 . If one of the components is not being adequately cooled, the plenum air pressure is increased in operation  150 .  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 2 depicts a side view of the base  200  of a computer system having a plenum-based cooling system. For this embodiment of the invention, the computer system is a laptop computer. The motherboard  250  is located inside the computer base  200 . The top of the laptop base is known as the keyboard surface  205  because the keyboard rests on top the base  200 . The motherboard  250  is coupled to a plurality of components  242 ,  244 , and  246 . Plenum  220  is located above each of the components  242 ,  244 , and  246 . The plenum  220  is coupled to an air source  210 . Air source  210  generates air to the plenum  220 , which is then used to cool the components  242 ,  244 , and  246 . The air source pressurizes the plenum  220  with air such that the plenum orifices  232 ,  234 , and  236  distribute air uniformly to each of the components that require cooling. The air source  210  may comprise a fan. For example, the CPU fan, a separate system fan, or an external fan may be used as the air source  210 . Alternatively, the air source  210  may comprise a compressor or a pump to generate the air. The compressor may generate refrigerated air to be distributed by the plenum  220  to specific system components.  
         [0015]    Specifically, the plenum  220  comprises orifices  232 ,  234 , and  236  above each component. Air released from orifice  232  cools component  242 ; air released from orifice  234  cools component  244 ; and air released from orifice  236  cools component  246 . The invention is not limited to a system having three components that require cooling. For example, a computer system may have a plenum having 10 orifices, which cool  10  corresponding components. Finally, the air used to cool the components is released from the computer base  200  via an air output  270 .  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 depicts a top view of the inside of the base  300  of a computer system having a plenum-based cooling system. The air source  310  is coupled to a plenum  320 . The bottom of the plenum  320  comprises orifices  331 - 335 . The air source  310  generates cold air to be distributed by the plenum  320 . The orifices  331 - 335  are each directly above a motherboard component that requires cooling.  
         [0017]    In the foregoing specification the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident that various modification and changes may be made thereto without departure from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense.