The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 13, 2010
Filed:
Aug. 13, 2007
Justin Potok Bandholz, Cary, NC (US);
Zachary Benson Durham, Asheboro, NC (US);
Clifton Ehrich Kerr, Durham, NC (US);
Joseph Eric Maxwell, Cary, NC (US);
Kevin Michael Reinberg, Durham, NC (US);
Kevin S. Vernon, Durham, NC (US);
Philip Louis Weinstein, Apex, NC (US);
Christopher Collier West, Raleigh, NC (US);
Justin Potok Bandholz, Cary, NC (US);
Zachary Benson Durham, Asheboro, NC (US);
Clifton Ehrich Kerr, Durham, NC (US);
Joseph Eric Maxwell, Cary, NC (US);
Kevin Michael Reinberg, Durham, NC (US);
Kevin S. Vernon, Durham, NC (US);
Philip Louis Weinstein, Apex, NC (US);
Christopher Collier West, Raleigh, NC (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
A system and method are used for electronically detecting the accumulation of dust within a computer system using a capacitive dust sensor. The dust detection system may be implemented on a smaller computer, such as an individual PC, or in a more expansive system, such as a rack-based server system ('rack system') having multiple servers and other hardware devices. In one embodiment, each server in a rack system includes a capacitive sensor responsive to the accumulation of dust. The capacitive sensor may include one or more capacitive plates integral with a heatsink. As dust collects on the capacitive plates, the capacitance increases. When a capacitance setpoint is reached, indicating the dust has reached a critical level, an alert is generated. The alerts may be received by a management console for the attention of a system administrator. Each alert may contain the identity of the server generating the alert, so that the system administrator knows which server(s) are to be removed for cleaning.