Electronic device and cooling fan control method

Abstract

An electronic device capable of reducing a continuously generated whining sound is provided. Electronic device ( 1 ) includes: cooling target ( 2 ); cooling fan ( 3 ) that cools cooling target ( 2 ); temperature detector ( 4 ) that detects the temperature of cooling target ( 2 ); and controller ( 5 ) that determines a driving voltage to be supplied to cooling fan ( 3 ) on the basis of the temperature of cooling target ( 2 ) detected by temperature detector ( 4 ), supplies the driving voltage to cooling fan ( 3 ), and, when a waiting time for updating the driving voltage has elapsed after supplying the driving voltage, redetermines the driving voltage on the basis of the temperature of cooling target ( 2 ) detected by temperature detector ( 4 ) at that point in time and supplies the driving voltage to cooling fan.

1 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a cooling target;   a cooling fan that cools said cooling target;   a temperature detection unit that detects a temperature of said cooling target; and   a control unit that determines a driving voltage to be supplied to said cooling fan on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target detected by said temperature detection unit, supplies the driving voltage to said cooling fan, and, when a waiting time for updating the driving voltage has elapsed after supplying the driving voltage, redetermines the driving voltage on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target detected by said temperature detection unit at that point in time and supplies the driving voltage to said cooling fan.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device according to  claim 1 , wherein said control unit further determines the waiting time for updating the driving voltage on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target detected by said temperature detection unit. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic device according to  claim 2 , wherein said control unit determines a target number of revolutions of said cooling fan on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target detected by said temperature detection unit, and further determines the waiting time for updating the driving voltage on the basis of the target number of revolutions, and wherein the more a whining sound is apt to occur owing to the number of revolutions being changed to the target number of revolutions, the longer is the waiting time for updating the driving voltage that is determined on the basis of the target number of revolutions. 
     
     
         4 . A cooling fan control method in an electronic device, the method comprising:
 detecting a temperature of a cooling target; and   determining a driving voltage to be supplied to a cooling fan on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target, supplying the driving voltage to said cooling fan, and, when a waiting time for updating the driving voltage has elapsed after supplying the driving voltage, redetermining the driving voltage on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target detected at that point in time and supplying the driving voltage to said cooling fan.   
     
     
         5 . The cooling fan control method according to  claim 4 , the method further comprising determining the waiting time for updating the driving voltage on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling fan control method according to  claim 5 , the method further comprising:
 determining a target number of revolutions of said cooling fan on the basis of the temperature of said cooling target,   determining the waiting time for updating the driving voltage on the basis of the target number of revolutions, and   wherein the more a whining sound is apt to occur owing to the number of revolutions being changed to the target number of revolutions, the longer is the waiting time for updating the driving voltage that is determined on the basis of the target number of revolutions.