US 9651320

Here's a concise summary of US Patent 9651320:

US Patent 9651320: ICT equipment

• Title: ICT equipment
• Current Assignee: Cloud Byte LLC (as of an assignment with an effective date of March 5, 2024, recorded June 27, 2024)
• Inventor: Kumiko Suzuki
• Filing Date: March 1, 2013
• Issue Date: May 16, 2017
• Abstract: The patent describes ICT equipment designed to prevent damage or malfunction of electronic components when the intake air temperature drops sharply. It includes a temperature sensor to detect component temperature, a declination index value calculation means to determine the degree of component temperature decline (e.g., temperature drop per unit time or difference between highest past temperature and current temperature), and a control means to adjust the cooling fan's rotation speed based on this index value. Specifically, the control means reduces fan speed as the component temperature's declination degree increases.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Independent Claim 1 (ICT equipment): This claim describes Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment that has a cooling fan, an electronic component, and two temperature sensors. The first sensor measures the temperature of the electronic component, and the second sensor measures the temperature of the air entering the equipment (intake air). The equipment also includes a microprocessor. Within this microprocessor, there's a unit that calculates an "index value" representing how much the component's temperature is dropping. Another unit in the microprocessor then controls the speed of the cooling fan based on both this calculated temperature declination index value and the intake air temperature detected by the second sensor.
• Independent Claim 7 (Control device): This claim defines a control device for ICT equipment. This ICT equipment already has a cooling fan, an electronic component, a first temperature sensor for the component, and a second temperature sensor for intake air. The control device itself comprises a microprocessor. Inside the microprocessor are two key units: one that calculates an index value showing the degree of temperature drop for an electronic component, using data from the first temperature sensor, and another unit that controls the cooling fan's rotation speed based on this calculated index value and the intake air temperature from the second sensor.
• Independent Claim 8 (Temperature controlling method): This claim outlines a method for controlling temperature in ICT equipment. The method involves using a declination index value calculation unit to determine an index value indicating how much an electronic component's temperature is declining. This calculation uses data from both a first temperature sensor (for the component) and a second temperature sensor (for intake air). Subsequently, a control unit adjusts the cooling fan's rotation speed based on this calculated index value and the intake air temperature from the second temperature sensor.

Litigation Status (as of April 26, 2026):
According to the provided patent information, US9651320B2 is involved in ongoing litigation:

• An Inter Partes Review (IPR) case, IPR2025-01288, was filed before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) by Dell Technologies, Inc., and Dell, Inc. This case was noted as "Not Instituted - Procedural."
• Two US cases were filed in the Texas Eastern District Court, identified as 2:26-cv-00150 and 2:24-cv-00637.
• A search of CAFC 2026 dockets did not immediately return specific dockets directly referencing patent 9651320 for the year 2026. The identified litigations are at the PTAB and District Court levels.