Dissipating Heat in a Digital Picture Frame

[Dave Smith]

Joshua Lutes wrote:
> So, things are pretty tight inside, but there is still space.  Especially on
> the bottom and top of the frame.  What can I do to help the heat to
> dissipate and not destroy the computer and the lcd?  Ideally something low
> cost (or no cost).  Do you think that cutting vents will be enough?
>   

Where are the laptop's fans? Most laptops I've seen have an intake and 
exhaust right next to each other, and the air snakes through the 
innards.  You should probably try to put a vent right next to the intake 
and another one right next to the exhaust. You may even consider 
building a duct (cereal box cardboard would probably be fine) so the air 
flows directly from the exterior into the intake vent, and then directly 
out, thus not heating the inside of the frame unecessarily.

I would also try to transfer heat to the exterior by additional means. 
Specifically, I'm thinking that a nice conductive metal with lots of 
surface area, like a couple CPU heat sinks, could be fastened to the 
back (bottom) of the laptop and then be allowed to protrude out the back 
of the frame.

What do you think about that?

--Dave