The smartphone is, today, one of a driver’s best friends. The small pocket device serves as a navigation unit, music library and web radio receiver. An appropriate app can be used to turn on the heater in winter even before getting underway so that the driver is cosy and warm. Oh, and you can also make calls, of course. Many of these functions can be called up directly using a multi-functional steering wheel for the highest level of operating convenience.
Automakers provide their customers with cradles so that this works smoothly. A smartphone can simply be inserted into this clamp; a corresponding interface ensures the greatest possible connectivity to the car. The cradle also provides the battery with electricity so that the driver gets the greatest degree of use from apps. During a multi-hour drive on the motorway in intense summer sunlight, the heat given off in the process could quickly become dangerous and cause the device to overheat.
As a cradle supplier for many large automakers, communications technology company Peiker has a solution ready: a built-in fan. Peiker uses the smallest of the small in the ebm-papst product line for this purpose. The 250 N series is just 25 x 25 x 8 millimetres. Its output is sufficient to fulfil the application’s requirements. After all, they do not have to handle huge quantities of heat given off, but simply circulate it within the interior of the cradle and thus distribute it sufficiently. The thermal load dissipates on the entire surface of the smartphone without negative effects, instead of forming potentially dangerous hotspots.
Peiker integrates the fans without major modifications. Only the cable and plug were adapted slightly in cooperation with ebm-papst. Because a cradle, as an optional auxiliary unit, is not subject to the strict EMC benchmarks of other automotive electronics, the developers could make use of standard components in this application, such as the 250 N series. Reliability is unaffected. Today the Peiker cradles are allowing thousands of users to be able to fully enjoy their smartphones during travel in the summer.
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