Apple Inc.

Network Appliance, Inc.

Cheng Ping Tan

Jesse T Dybenko

Con Phan

Bartley K Andre

Chris A Ligtenberg

Ron Alan Hopkinson

John M Brock

Michael D Hillman

Gavin J Reid

Enoch Mylabathula

Arash Naghib Lahouti

Khalu Bazzani

Ashkan Rasouli

Steven Lee Owen

Brett W Degner

Dominic Benjamin Giampaolo

Anthony Joseph Aiello

Jason C Sauers

Atul Goel

Michael E Leclerc

Phil M Hobson

Jifang Tian

Joseph Sokol, Jr

Anthony Fai

Eric R Prather

Christopher John Sarcone

David John Yeh

Sivesh Selvakumar

Richard A Herms

Laura M Campo

Sergio J Henriques

Philippe P Herrou

Kevin M Nguyen

Dragos Moroianu

Khalu C Bazzani

Halil Berberoglu

A head-mountable device can provide a cooling module that effectively manages heat while also minimizing noise, vibration, leakage, power consumption, size, and weight. To dissipate heat, the cooling module with a fan can be operated to move air through a chamber within the head-mountable device. An integrated heat sink can provide heat dissipation properties by drawing heat away from heat-generating components and into the chamber. The integrated heat sink can include a base plate that defines at least a portion of the chamber in which the blades of the fan are positioned. The integrated heat sink can further include fins between the chamber and an outlet. The fins can be integrated with the base plate to maximize heat dissipation and reduce the number of interfaces between separate parts.

Integrated fan and heat sink for head-mountable device

A fan motor suitable for use in an electronic device, such as a consumer electronic device, is disclosed. The fan motor includes a stator and a rotor. In order to minimize a varying torque applied to the rotor, the stator includes modifications. For example, the stator includes stator teeth, each with an arc defined by a radius of curvature that varies. The radius (from a reference point to the arc) can vary in accordance with a sinusoidal curve. Furthermore, the corners of each stator tooth may be rounded. The rounded corners of the stator teeth may include a uniform (or constant, non-varying) radius of curvature. These enhancement are designed to provide a more uniform torque by the stator to the rotor. As a result, the rotation of the rotor is subject to smaller fluctuations, and the fan motor undergoes less vibration and generates less acoustical noise.

Electronic devices with a motor that includes a stator with a non-uniform radius of curvature

Systems and methods are provided for mitigating recirculation of backflow fluid through a fan. The fan includes a housing having a channel that extends from an inlet to an outlet of the housing. A rotor assembly is positioned within the channel and is configured to direct a fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet. The rotor assembly includes a hub, a plurality of fan blades, and a shroud disposed about a circumference of the fan blades, where a radial gap extends between the shroud and the housing. The radial gap is configured to receive a portion of the fluid flow from the outlet as backflow fluid. The rotor assembly also includes an inlet flange that is configured receive the backflow fluid from the radial gap and to direct the backflow fluid in a direction away from the inlet prior to discharge of the backflow fluid from the radial gap.

Fan flow directing features, systems and methods

An electronic device with a fan assembly is disclosed. The fan assembly includes an impeller and an insert separated from the impeller by a gap. The fan assembly increases airflow by rotationally driving the impeller. For a sufficient rotational speed of the impeller, the airflow reaches a level that provides a force that displaces the insert. The displacement may include movement and/or compression of the insert. As a result of the displacement, the gap between the impeller and the insert increases. The increased gap reduces the pressure and associated noise that is otherwise caused by the airflow. When the rotational speed of the impeller reduces or ceases, the insert returns to its initial position. In this manner, the fan assembly includes a self-adjusting gap that changes based on the airflow.

Fan assembly with a self-adjusting gap and electronic devices with a fan assembly

A composite memory device that includes different types of non-volatile memory devices, which have different performance characteristics, is described. This composite memory device may receive requests, a given one of which includes a command, a logical address for at least a block of data associated with the command, and a hint associated with the command. For the given request, the composite memory device executes the command on the block of data at the logical address in at least one of the types of non-volatile memory devices. Furthermore, the composite memory device conditionally executes the hint based on one or more criteria, such as: available memory in the types of non-volatile memory devices, traffic through an interface circuit in the composite memory device, operational states of the types of non-volatile memory devices, a target performance characteristic of the composite memory device, and an environmental condition of the composite memory device.

Including performance-related hints in requests to composite memory

Systems and methods for nonvolatile memory ('NVM') performance throttling are disclosed. Performance of an NVM system may be throttled to achieve particular data retention requirements. In particular, because higher storage temperatures tend to reduce the amount of time that data may be reliably stored in an NVM system, performance of the NVM system may be throttled to reduce system temperatures and increase data retention time.

Systems and methods for nonvolatile memory performance throttling

A portable electronic device having an outer housing, a component, and a shock-absorption assembly is disclosed. A shock-absorption assembly located within the outer housing and coupled to the component can include one or more elements adapted to dampen a mechanical shock to the component. The shock-absorption assembly elements can be mounted to corners and/or edges of the component. Shock-absorption assembly elements can include a first portion comprising protrusions that provide initial damping of the mechanical shock and a second portion comprising an elastic block that provides final damping of the mechanical shock.

Mounting structure for component of electronic device

Portable computer structures are provided. The portable computer structures may include hard drive mounting structures. The hard drive mounting structures may include elastomeric support members. Each elastomeric support member may have a relatively rigid inner portion. The inner portion may include a hole that receives a hard drive mounting pin. Each elastomeric support member may also have a relatively flexible outer portion. The relatively flexible outer portion may be mounted within an opening in a plastic support member. The rigid inner portion may have a square outline and may be mounted within a square opening in the flexible outer portion.

Portable computer hard drive structures

A computer system that generates a disposition instruction and an associated access command directed to a block of data at a logical address is described. The disposition instruction and the access command are communicated to a memory system in the computer system via a communication link. Note that the memory system includes different types of memory having different performance characteristics, and the disposition instruction is generated based on the different performance characteristics. In response to the access command, the memory system accesses the block of data at the logical address in a first type of memory in the different types of memory. Furthermore, based on the disposition instruction, the memory system moves the block of data to a second type of memory in the different types of memory to facilitate subsequent accesses to the block of data.

Disposition instructions for extended access commands

A portable computing device having an outer housing, and internal hard disk drive and a shock damping mounting assembly is disclosed. Multiple outer dimensions of the portable computing device can be less than the width of the hard drive due to a diagonal arrangement of the hard drive within the overall device. The hard drive can comply with a standardized form factor, such as a 3.5 inch form factor. A mounting assembly located within the outer housing and coupled to the hard drive can include one or more components adapted to damp a mechanical shock to the hard drive, which components can be mounted to corners and/or edges of the hard drive. Mounting assembly components can includes a first stage spring comprising a finger geometry that provides initial damping of the mechanical shock and a second stage spring comprising an elastic block that provides final damping of the mechanical shock.

Portable hard drive and mounting structure for same

The input/output (I/O) performance of a hard disk drive in a mass storage computer system is evaluated to maintain efficiency by addressing I/O commands to sectors of the disk drive, evaluating the execution of the I/O commands to the sectors to obtain performance information for the sectors to which the I/O commands are addressed, comparing the performance information to a predetermined I/O performance criterion, and identifying any impaired sectors in which the performance information indicates less than the predetermined I/O performance criterion. Thereafter, further I/O commands to the impaired sectors are avoided.

Apparatus and method to proactively address hard disk drive inefficiency and failure

Growing community of inventors

Fremont, CA, United States of America

Cheng Ping Tan