Microsoft's patent reveals a new thermal design, probably for Surface Book 3

Microsoft launched the new Surface Pro 7 and Surface Laptop 3 at their annual Surface Event last year. While both the devices got a new upgrade, Microsft left out the expensive Surface Book which now has pretty outdated specs for 2020.

However, it looks like that might change soon. According to a patent filing uncovered by Windows Latest, Microsoft might have skipped Surface Book because they had something new planned for Book 3. The patent titled “Adaptive airflow guides in an electronic device” was filed by Microsoft back in 2018 and was published by the USPTO on 30th Jan 2020. The patent talks about adaptive airflow guides that could provide optimal thermal management for Laptops.

Thermal management devices and systems, and corresponding methods of cooling computing devices are described herein. Such devices, systems, and methods may be advantageous in providing optimal thermal management for the computing device and/or minimizing acoustics in the computing device for a plurality of rotational fan speeds. Additionally, optimal thermal management may provide an increase in system performance and an increase in computing device life expectancy. In one example, a thermal management system includes a fan configured to move air through an outlet opening of the fan and at least one airflow guide positioned adjacent to the outlet opening. The at least one airflow guide is configured to direct movement of the air from the outlet opening to dissipate heat within an electronic device, and the at least one airflow guide is configured to pivot about an axis to move between a first position to a second position based on a change in a rotational speed of the fan.

– Microsoft

While the patent is designed for a laptop, Microsoft could adapt it for 2-in-1 devices and even to Xbox. The patent certainly looks promising and could be helpful for future Surface devices.