Patent Publication Number: US-2007103321-A1

Title: Electronic device capable of detecting an object and method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an electronic device capable of performing a function according to a sensing result of whether an object blocks a vent of the electronic device and method thereof, and more particularly, to an electronic device capable of controlling a warning interface to present a warning message when an object blocks a vent of the electronic device and method thereof.  
      2. Description of the Prior Art  
      In modern information society, computer systems, such as desktops, notebook computers, servers, and so on, are becoming necessary. The operation speed of a typical computer is becoming faster so that the computer is utilized in a wide variety of fields. Because of the increasing speed, components of the computer generate more heat than before when processing operations. If the heat generated by the components of the computer cannot be dissipated effectively, the stability and operation speed of the computer will be reduced.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a notebook computer  10  of the prior art.  FIG. 2  is a diagram of a thermal module  12  of the notebook computer  10 . The notebook computer  10  includes a housing  14  for covering internal components. An intake  16  is positioned on a bottom of the housing  14  for air intake, and a vent  18  is positioned on a side of the housing  14  for venting hot air from the thermal module  12  outside the housing  14 . The notebook computer  10  further includes a display monitor  20  for displaying operating information of the notebook computer  10 , and a speaker  22  for outputting sound signals. The thermal module  12  includes a fan  24  installed above the intake  16  and a heat sink  26  installed between the fan  24  and the vent  18  of the housing  14 . A plurality of fins  28  is installed on the heat sink  26  for increasing the heat-dissipating area. The air outside can be sucked in at the intake  16  by the fan  24 , be diffused to the plurality of fins  28  on the heat sink  26 , and be vented from the vent  18  so as to dissipate heat generated by the components of the notebook computer  10  outside the housing  14  by heat convection.  
      When an object is positioned close to the vent  18  of the notebook computer  10 , the object blocks the hot air vented from the vent  18  by the thermal module  12 . Therefore, the heat generated by the components of the notebook computer  10  cannot be dissipated easily, which results in a rapid increase of temperature in the notebook computer  10 . This reduces the stability of the notebook computer  10  and the service life of the components of the notebook computer  10 .  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is therefore a primary objective of the claimed invention to provide an electronic device capable of performing a function according to a sensing result of whether an object blocks a vent of the electronic device for solving the above-mentioned problem.  
      According to the claimed invention, an electronic device includes a sensor for sensing whether an object blocks a vent, and a logic unit electrically connected to the sensor for controlling operation of the electronic device according to a sensing result of the sensor.  
      According to the claimed invention, a method for controlling operation of an electronic device according to a sensing result of an object blocking a vent includes sensing whether the object blocks the vent, and controlling the electronic device to perform a corresponding operation according to the sensing result.  
      These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a notebook computer of the prior art.  
       FIG. 2  is a diagram of a thermal module of the notebook computer of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an electronic device according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a diagram of internal components of the electronic device of  FIG. 3  according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of the electronic device of  FIG. 3  according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a diagram of an object blocking a vent of the electronic device according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart of controlling the electronic device to perform a function according to whether the object blocks the vent according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
      Please refer to  FIG. 3 ,  FIG. 4 , and  FIG. 5 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of an electronic device  50  according to the present invention.  FIG. 4  is a diagram of internal components of the electronic device  50  according to the present invention.  FIG. 5  is a functional block diagram of the electronic device  50  according to the present invention. The electronic device  50  can be a notebook computer. The electronic device  50  includes a housing  52  for covering internal components. An intake  54  is positioned on a bottom of the housing  52  for air intake, and a vent  56  is positioned on a side of the housing  52  for venting hot air to outside the housing  52 . The electronic device  50  further includes a warning interface  58  for presenting a warning message. The warning interface  58  includes a display module  60  for displaying operating information of the electronic device  50  so as to present the warning message as an image. The warning interface  58  further includes a speaker  62  for outputting sound signals so as to present the warning message as a sound. The electronic device  50  further includes a sensor  64  installed on a side of the vent  56  for sensing whether an object blocks the vent  56 . The sensor  64  can be an optical sensor, an infrared sensor, and so on. The electronic device  50  further includes a translucent plastic component  66  installed outside the sensor  64  for protecting the sensor  64 . The translucent plastic component  66  does not reduce the sensing accuracy of the sensor  64  as an opaque plastic component would. The electronic device  50  further includes a logic unit  68  electrically connected to the warning interface  58  and the sensor  64  for controlling operation of the electronic device  50  according to the sensing result of the sensor  64 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the electronic device  50  further includes a thermal module  70  including a fan  72  installed above the intake  54 , and a heat sink  74  installed between the fan  72  and the vent  56  on the housing  52 . A plurality of fins  76  is installed on the heat sink  74  for increasing the heat-dissipating area. The air outside can be sucked in at the intake  54  by the fan  72 , be diffused to the plurality of fins  76  on the heat sink  74 , and be vented from the vent  56  so as to dissipate heat generated by the components of the electronic device  50  to outside the housing  52  by heat convection.  
      Please refer to  FIG. 6 .  FIG. 6  is a diagram of an object  78  blocking the vent  56  of the electronic device  50  according to the present invention. When the object  78  is positioned close to the vent  56  of the electronic device  50 , the object  78  blocks the hot air vented from the vent  56  by the thermal module  70 . Therefore, the heat generated by the components of the electronic device  50  cannot be dissipated easily. Please refer to  FIG. 7 .  FIG. 7  is a flowchart of controlling the electronic device  50  to perform a function according to whether the object  78  blocks the vent  56  according to the present invention. The method includes the following steps: 
      Step  100 : Start.     Step  102 : The sensor  64  of the electronic device  50  senses whether the object  78  blocks the vent  56 . When the sensor  64  senses the object  78  blocking the vent  56 , the sensor  64  outputs a control signal to the logic unit  68 .     Step  104 : When the logic unit  68  receives the control signal transmitted from the sensor  64 , that is, the object  78  blocks the vent  56 , the logic unit  68  controls the warning interface  58  to present a warning message so as to inform a user of the object  78  blocking the vent  56 .     Step  106 : End.    

      When there is no object blocking the vent  56  of the electronic device  50 , the sensor  64  does not report anything. When there is the object  78  blocking the vent  56  of the electronic device  50 , light emitted from the sensor  64  is reflected back so that the sensor  64  receives light with the same wavelength as the emitted light. Then, the sensor  64  outputs the control signal to the logic unit  68 . When the distance between the object  78  and the sensor  64  as sensed by the sensor  64  is less than a predetermined distance, the sensor  64  outputs the control signal to the logic unit  68 . That is, when the distance between the object  78  and the vent  56  is less than the predetermined distance, the logic unit  68  controls the warning interface  58  to present the warning message so as to inform the user of the object  78  blocking the vent  56 . The sensitivity of the sensor  64  can be adjusted according to the predetermined distance or by selecting the sensor  64  based on sensing distance.  
      When the logic unit  68  receives the control signal transmitted from the sensor  64 , the logic unit  68  controls the warning interface  58  to present the warning message so as to inform the user of the object  78  blocking the vent  56 . The logic unit  68  can control the display module  60  to display the warning message as an image, such as by displaying a window showing a message informing the user of the object  78  blocking the vent  56  so as to warn the user to remove the object  78  from the front of the vent  56 . The logic unit  68  also can control the speaker  62  to output sound signals so as to present the warning message as a sound, such as a beep or similar noise.  
      In contrast to the conventional electronic device, the electronic device according to the present invention can alert the user to remove an object from the front of the vent when the object blocks the vent of the electronic device. Therefore, the heat generated by the components of the electronic device can be dissipated easily so as to increase the stability of the electronic device and increase the service life of the components of the electronic device.  
      Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.