Annamika Dua (ad8 ECE 120), JiYeon In (jiyeoni2 ECE 110) , Zhiyuan Yang (zy8 ECE 110)
ECE 110/120 Honors Lab
Proposal: Laptop Cooler
Introduction:
The purpose is to create a laptop cooler that adjusts the fan speeds according to the change in temperature surrounding the device.
Laptop cooling pads have previously been made. However, those fans only have two modes, on and off, and they have to be changed manually. A popular complaint is that computers overheat which causes their computers to lag. Although some computers have fans, they still overheat when the computer is stressed, which could potentially lead to permanent damage.
Design:
Block Diagram
System Overview
Sensors will be added onto the cooling pad. When the temperature is higher than normal, the fans will start and the power output of fans will adjust according to the temperature change. Different LED lights will indicate to users whether the temperature is normal, little high, or high, or too high to be cooled down by this cooling pad.
Parts:
4 Fans;
3 Sensors;
Frame;
Control board;
LEDs;
Wires;
Batteries (power supply);
Filter;
Motors;
Challenges:
A challenge would be making the program that runs on the control board. It should process the input data from the sensors and outputs the proper voltage (power) for the fan motors.
In addition, the arrangement of the fans’ locations and angles would be a challenge because aerodynamics need to be considered.
Another challenge may be trying to switch the power supply from a battery to a USB port.
References:
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