Patent ID: 8550702

Claim:
A monitored electronic system comprising: an electronic system at least partially air-cooled; and a monitoring device for monitoring air-cooling of the electronic system, the monitoring device comprising: an airflow sensor positioned within the electronic system, the airflow sensor comprising at least one temperature sensor and a heater associated with one temperature sensor of the at least one temperature sensor, and the airflow sensor facilitating determining a rate of airflow within the electronic system; non-volatile memory containing a pre-calibrated ON-OFF duty cycle for use in powering the heater associated with the one temperature sensor of the at least one temperature sensor, the pre-calibrated ON-OFF duty cycle facilitating determining the rate of airflow within the electronic system using the airflow sensor from sensed temperature of the at least one temperature sensor, having been obtained with the airflow sensor positioned within the electronic system; and a controller, the controller using the pre-calibrated ON-OFF duty cycle in powering the heater associated with the one temperature sensor of the at least one temperature sensor during airflow monitoring of the electronic system and determining of the rate of airflow within the electronic system, and the controller obtaining a hot temperature (T hot ) reading from the one temperature sensor having the associated heater powered using the pre-calibrated ON-OFF duty cycle, and determining, based at least in part on the hot temperature (T hot ) reading, whether to issue a rate of airflow warning.