Electronic apparatus with fan motor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9512851-B2
Application number	US-201514612421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2015
Priority date	Feb 4, 2014
Publication date	Dec 6, 2016
Grant date	Dec 6, 2016

Abstract

If a fan motor in a stopped state remains stopped even when it is powered on, restart processing of the fan motor is carried out by rotating the fan motor forward and backward. If the fan motor rotates as a result of the restart processing, an indication to prompt replacement of it is displayed. If the fan motor remains stopped without rotating, in contrast, it is determined to be defective, and an electronic apparatus is stopped.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:
a fan motor;
a rotation state detection unit configured to detect a rotation state of the fan motor;
a display unit configured to display an operation state of the fan motor; and
a restart control unit configured to restart the fan motor if a rotation failure of the fan motor in a stopped state is detected by the rotation state detection unit, wherein
the display unit is configured to display an indication to prompt replacement of the fan motor if a normal operation of the fan motor is detected by the rotation state detection unit when the fan motor is restarted by the restart control unit, and
the electronic apparatus is configured so that the electronic apparatus is stopped or the fan motor is de-energized if an abnormal operation of the fan motor is detected by the rotation state detection unit when the fan motor is restarted by the restart control unit.

2. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the fan motor comprises therein the rotation state detection unit and the restart control unit.

3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the restart control unit is configured to operate the fan motor in a behavior different from that for the case of normal start when the fan motor is restarted.

4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the display unit is configured to display an indication to the effect that the fan motor is defective if an abnormal operation of the fan motor is detected by the rotation state detection unit when the fan motor is restarted by the restart control unit.

5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the restart control unit is configured to operate the fan motor in a behavior different from that for the case of normal start when the fan motor is restarted.

6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the restart control unit is configured to operate the fan motor in a behavior different from that for the case of normal start when the fan motor is restarted.

7. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the fan motor is a reversible motor configured to repeat forward and backward rotations when restarted by the restart control unit, the electronic apparatus further comprises a deterioration level determination unit configured to determine a deterioration level based on the frequency of forward and backward rotations of the fan motor, and the display unit displays a message corresponding to the deterioration level determined by the deterioration level determination unit.

8. The electronic apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the fan motor is configured so that the torque thereof is variable whereby the torque is increased when the fan motor is restarted by the restart control unit,
the electronic apparatus further comprises a deterioration level determination unit configured to determine a deterioration level based on the value of torque obtained when the fan motor is restarted or the time required for the restart, and
the display unit displays a message corresponding to the deterioration level determined by the deterioration level determination unit.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Suwa Hiroyuki
• Odauchi Shingo

Classifications

• H02P1/029

  Restarting, e.g. after power failure · CPC title

• F04D19/002

  Axial flow fans · CPC title

• F04D27/001 Primary

  Testing thereof; Determination or simulation of flow characteristics; Stall or surge detection, e.g. condition monitoring · CPC title