Performance and noise control for a heat sink air mover

Abstract

A system and method for cooling a heat-generating device. The system comprises a heat sink base for contacting the heat-generating device, and a plurality of heat sink fins extending from the heat sink base, wherein the fins provide airflow passages that are open along a top, a first side and a second side. An ionic air moving device is disposed along at least one side of the heat sink for moving air through the airflow passages, and a fan is mounted adjacent to the top of the fins for moving air through the airflow passages. A controller selectively controls the airflow through the heat sink using only the ionic device, only the fan, or both the ionic device and the fan. A user or a system component may instruct the controller to enter a performance mode, an energy efficiency mode, or an acoustic mode.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for cooling a heat-generating device, comprising:
 a heat sink base for contacting the heat-generating device;   a plurality of heat sink fins extending from the heat sink base, wherein the fins provide airflow passages that are open along a top, a first side and a second side;   an ionic device disposed along at least one side of the heat sink for moving air through the airflow passages;   a fan mounted adjacent to the distal end of the fins for moving air through the airflow passages; and   a controller configured to selectively control the airflow through the heat sink using only the ionic device, only the fan, or both the ionic device and the fan.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the fan is disposed along the top of the heat sink. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the fan pushes air into the airflow passages from the top of the fins and the air exits the airflow passages at the first and second sides. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the fan draws the air out of the airflow passages at the top of the fins and air enters the airflow passages at the first and second sides. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a temperature sensor coupled to the heat sink base, wherein the temperature sensor provides a temperature signal to the controller.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the controller includes a control circuit dedicated to the operation of the fan and ionic device. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the heat-generating device is a processor. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the processor and the heat sink are provided on an expansion card. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is a service processor in communication with the processor. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the service processor is selected from a baseboard management processor and an integrated management module. 
     
     
         11 . A method of cooling a heat-generating device, comprising:
 inducing airflow through a heat sink from a first side of the heat sink to a second side of the heat sink using an ionic device, wherein the heat sink has a base in thermal communication with the heat-generating device and a plurality of heat sink fins extending from the heat sink base, wherein the fins provide airflow passages that are open along a top and between the first and second sides;   inducing airflow through the top of the heat sink using a fan; and   selectively controlling the airflow using only the ionic device, only the fan, or both the ionic device and the fan.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 in response to input received from a user or system controller selecting a performance mode, inducing airflow through the heat sink using only the fan.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 in response to input received from a user or system controller selecting an energy efficiency mode, inducing airflow through the heat sink using the ionic device up to a setpoint condition and using the fan above the setpoint condition.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the setpoint condition is selected from a temperature setpoint, an energy setpoint, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the heat generating device is a processor, the temperature setpoint is a processor temperature setpoint, and the energy setpoint is a processor energy consumption setpoint. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 in response to input received from a user or system controller selecting an acoustic mode, inducing airflow through the heat sink using only the ionic device.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the heat-generating device is a processor. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 in response to the processor reaching a temperature exceeding a processor temperature setpoint while in the acoustic mode, continuing to induce airflow through the heat sink using only the ionic device and throttling a processor speed.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the fan induces airflow into the heat sink through the top of the heat sink and out the first and second sides of the heat sink. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the fan induces airflow into the heat sink through the first and second sides of the heat sink and out the top of the heat sink.