Independent electronics equipment heater using phase width modulation

摘要

The invention provides an apparatus comprised of a heater system used for a mass data storage module. The system is configured to maintain the correct operating temperature for drives of the module when the ambient temperature and/or initial, starting temperature is outside of the range of temperatures required for reliable operation of the drives and as appropriate, to report issues to a user via in-band (i.e., the host system data path) and out-of-band (supplemental user communication links) interfaces. Pulse width modulation is used in distributing heat across the drives with the implementation of a rotating "seed" methodology, rather than a variable duty cycle.