Interesting Idea for Laptop Users

[Sundavar]

Dear Laptop Users of the Escapist community, I am in an engineering course at my high school and for this year we have to do a project in which we create a product and present it to a panel of engineers.

For this project my partner and I are considering creating a laptop case with a cooling pad (w/ fans) in the back side of it. You would be able to open up the case and feet would extend from the bottom, propping up the cooling pad and making it able to get air.

Would any of my fellow Escapists with laptops be interested in buying this? Do you think there's sufficient demand for this sort of product? Thanks for your time.

Note: When I say laptop case, I'm referring to a carrying case, not the case that contains your motherboard, battery, etc. Sorry if that wasn't clear, I didn't realize until now that I never explicitly stated that.

 

[tokae]

It's definitely an interesting idea, there are many kinds of cooling pads on the market but nothing quite like this I think.. How are you going to minimize the noise-level? What Db-level are we talking?

 

[Sundavar]

Well, in the prototype we will probably be using some sort of budget fans so noise level isn't necessarily something we're considering, although I'm sure (based on the cooling pad I currently own) that it would be pretty quiet, certainly unobtrusive.

Ideally, the fans in the case would be comparable to something you would find in a standard cooling pad.

 

[tokae]

Well, in the prototype we will probably be using some sort of budget fans so noise level isn't necessarily something we're considering, although I'm sure (based on the cooling pad I currently own) that it would be pretty quiet, certainly unobtrusive.

Ideally, the fans in the case would be comparable to something you would find in a standard cooling pad.

Hmm, okay, I understand. Yes, it seems like a good idea..
I would buy if it was on the market.

 

[gabe12301]

maybe. If you can:

A.keep the noise level down

B.keep power requirements low (eating your battery in 10 minutes isn't that great. You can tell the judges about how you considered this.)

C.make it so the fan housing isn't three inches thick. (whenever I see a project like this at my school the inventions are always cumbersome and look a bit impractical.)

You also need to consider filters. If the judges see dustballs hanging from it they wont be impressed.

 

[the spud]

That is unironically a brilliant idea. Seriously. Just make sure the legs are long enough.

It might not be enough alone to make me purchase a new laptop, but it is something to consider.

 

[Sundavar]

Hmm, okay, I understand. Yes, it seems like a good idea..
I would buy if it was on the market.

Awesome, awesome. At this point in the project all we need to do is prove that there is demand for our idea, and forums count!

 

[supagama]

Hmm, okay, I understand. Yes, it seems like a good idea..
I would buy if it was on the market.

Awesome, awesome. At this point in the project all we need to do is prove that there is demand for our idea, and forums count!

Depends, how much would this product cost?

 

[Adam28]

I would love this for my current laptop, both the sides and the bottom get so hot it actually starts to heat up the room. It's gonna be great to use in winter though.

 

[redisforever]

Yes please! My laptop at times sounds like a jet engine.

I do have a question though, how would the fans be powered? You could do USB maybe?

 

[Princess Rose]

For this project my partner and I are considering creating a laptop case with a cooling pad (w/ fans) in the back side of it. You would be able to open up the case and feet would extend from the bottom, propping up the cooling pad and making it able to get air.

Would any of my fellow Escapists with laptops be interested in buying this? Do you think there's sufficient demand for this sort of product? Thanks for your time.

Sounds good to me. Particularly for when I'm playing games on this thing. I have a beast of a processor and lots of ram, but even mild use heats this thing up pretty fast.

One question though - how would it affect the use of the laptop when balanced on my actual lap? Or, more likely, perched on one thigh? Would the feet be jabbing my leg? That might make me less likely to purchase such a product, as... well, my laptop is perched on my thigh as I type this.

 

[Sundavar]

Depends, how much would this product cost?

Probably not very much, the fans themselves aren't that expensive and the material for the case really shouldn't be that expensive either. So speculatively relatively cheap but we're still in the research-ish phase now.

 

[dogenzakaminion]

That sounds like a great idea, just consider the things other posters have said (noise and size). I would also tell you to remember that different laptops have different fan locations, meaning they get hot in different places. Mentioning this so you don't model your product after your own laptop, say, and loose focus on the bigger market. Good luck!

 

[Sundavar]

I do have a question though, how would the fans be powered? You could do USB maybe?

We are considering a system that offers two options: both battery power and USB power. The purpose of the battery power is to avoid the drain on laptop battery that USB power causes, but we still want to have that as an option if batteries are unavailable or if power drain is not a problem.

One question though - how would it affect the use of the laptop when balanced on my actual lap? Or, more likely, perched on one thigh? Would the feet be jabbing my leg? That might make me less likely to purchase such a product, as... well, my laptop is perched on my thigh as I type this.

Well my friend actually just came up with a different way we could do it that could eliminate the feet and make having it on your lap a relatively comfortable experience. Of course balancing a laptop on one thigh is always a balancing act but I don't think this would impede you at all if you've already mastered that technique ha ha.

 

[crepesack]

Please include a way to control voltage and an independent on off switch. For one it's nice to choose fan speed and to be able to turn it off when you want without unplugging it. If you can also include at least one extra USB port on the unit itself to replace the one consumed by the product and PLEASE for the love of GOD make the cooling panel out of METAL not plastic.

 

[Sundavar]

That sounds like a great idea, just consider the things other posters have said (noise and size). I would also tell you to remember that different laptops have different fan locations, meaning they get hot in different places. Mentioning this so you don't model your product after your own laptop, say, and loose focus on the bigger market. Good luck!

Thank you! We intend to do some research on the optimal fan placement, and movable fans are being considered as a possibility to make that problem nonexistent, but that might have too big of an impact on structural integrity to work. Those are definitely some things for us to keep in mind and not lose focus on. Thanks again!

 

[Sundavar]

Please include a way to control voltage and an independent on off switch. For one it's nice to choose fan speed and to be able to turn it off when you want without unplugging it. If you can also include at least one extra USB port on the unit itself to replace the one consumed by the product and PLEASE for the love of GOD make the cooling panel out of METAL not plastic.

If we do end up taking this farther than just a school project for credit those are actually really handy ideas. We would definitely have to do more research. One question though, why the metal? If the plastic was durable wouldn't it be a lighter and cheaper alternative? Or did you have another reason in mind?

 

[Quigglebert]

i suffer from massive overheating problems, the only problem i could see with such an idea, would be how cost effective would it be?

but that aside, within a reasonable price, im in

 

[aescuder]

Throw in an extra power source that can extend battery life and you got yourself a very interested consumer.