JP2010114128A - Cabinet, and storage system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cabinet capable of preventing its internal temperature from rising inexpensively. <P>SOLUTION: The cabinet has a cabinet body 11 on which a body to be stored (server 100) can be mounted and a cover portion 12 covering the cabinet body 11, and is configured to store the server 100. The cover portion 12 is provided with an opening 61 for air suction at a lower end of the cover portion 12 so as to introduce external air, and with an opening 62 for air discharge, to which a discharge pipe 3 can be connected so as to discharge the air in the cover portion 12, at a top portion of the cover portion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cabinet for storing a storage object and a storage system including the cabinet.

As this type of cabinet, an electronic equipment storage rack disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-23036 is known. This electronic equipment storage rack includes a rack composed of a bottom plate, a top plate, left and right side plates, a back plate and a door, and a cooling device composed of a blower box, a duct and a nozzle and mounted in the rack. The heat generated from the electronic device housed inside is configured to be discharged out of the rack. In this electronic equipment storage rack, air in the room (outside the rack) is taken in from the floor side by a blower fan in a blower box in the cooling device, and the air is blown from each nozzle through a duct. At this time, the air blown out from the nozzle is blown to the electronic device housed in the rack, and the hot air around the electronic device is blown out or heat exchange is performed to cool the electronic device and its surroundings. Moreover, the hot air blown away from the surroundings of the electronic equipment or the air subjected to heat exchange rises in the ventilation space in the rack, and is exposed to the outside of the rack via the exhaust fan from the ventilation port provided at the upper part of the side plate. ).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-23036 (page 6-7, FIG. 1-3)

  However, the conventional electronic equipment storage rack has the following problems. That is, in this electronic equipment storage rack, the electronic equipment and its surroundings are cooled by the air in the room (outside of the rack) taken into the rack, and the hot air in the rack (heat exchanged air) is sent from the rack vent to the rack. Exhaust outside the room, that is, indoors. On the other hand, the temperature in the room where the electronic device storage rack is installed rises due to the hot air exhausted from the electronic device storage rack. In this case, as the indoor temperature rises, the cooling effect as described above cannot be sufficiently exerted, and the temperature in the rack also rises. For this reason, when a server as an electronic device is stored in the rack, an alarm is issued from the server by the overheat prevention function of the server, or in the worst case, the server is powered off. In order to prevent the occurrence of such a situation, it is indispensable to take measures to prevent a temperature rise with a large-scale air conditioning facility in a room where this kind of electronic equipment storage rack is installed. Therefore, in this type of conventional electronic equipment storage rack, a large amount of power is consumed due to the operation of a large air conditioning facility, which is a problem from the viewpoint of cost and energy saving.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet and a storage system that can prevent an internal temperature rise at low cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, the cabinet according to claim 1 includes a cabinet main body on which the object to be stored can be placed, and a cover that covers the cabinet body, and is configured to be capable of storing the object to be stored. The part is provided with an intake opening for introducing air outside the cover part at the lower end of the cover part, and an exhaust pipe for discharging the air inside the cover part can be connected An exhaust opening is provided in the ceiling of the cover.

  Moreover, the cabinet of Claim 2 is a cabinet of Claim 1, The said cover part is comprised separately from the said cabinet main body.

  Moreover, the cabinet of Claim 3 is a cabinet of Claim 1 or 2, The wall member which comprises the said cover part is comprised by the sheet | seat body which has a softness | flexibility.

  Furthermore, the cabinet of Claim 4 is a cabinet in any one of Claim 1 to 3, The installation area | region of the said cabinet main body in the internal space of the said cover part, the said cover part in the inside of the said cover part, A partition wall is provided to divide the area between the first area on the front side of the cabinet body and the second area on the back side of the cabinet body, and the exhaust opening communicates with the second area. Is provided.

  A storage system according to claim 5 is attached to the exhaust opening of the cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and the cover part, and the cover part is connected to the cover part via the exhaust opening. And an exhaust pipe for exhausting the air inside.

  The cabinet according to claim 1 and the storage system according to claim 5 are provided with an intake opening for introducing external air and an exhaust opening to which an exhaust pipe for discharging the internal air can be connected. The cabinet is configured with a cover portion that covers the cabinet body. For this reason, in this cabinet and storage system, the hot air that has been heated by the heat released from the object to be stored stored inside the cabinet by piping the exhaust pipe attached to the exhaust opening of the cover portion outdoors. Can be discharged outdoors through the exhaust pipe. Therefore, according to this cabinet and the storage system, the discharge of warm air into the installation room in which the cabinet is installed is prevented. As a result, the temperature rise in the installation room due to the discharge of warm air into the installation room, and the accompanying cabinet An internal temperature rise (inside the cover portion) can be reliably prevented at low cost without using a large air conditioning facility. In this cabinet and storage system, the intake opening is provided at the lower end of the cover part, and the exhaust opening is provided at the ceiling part of the cover part. Can be efficiently introduced from the lower end portion of the cover portion, and warm air rising upward can be efficiently discharged from the ceiling portion of the cover portion.

  Moreover, in the cabinet of Claim 2, and the storage system of Claim 5, the cover part is comprised separately from the cabinet main body. For this reason, in this cabinet and storage system, only the cover part can be replaced while the cabinet body is still installed. Therefore, according to the cabinet and the storage system, for example, when the cover part needs to be replaced due to damage or the like, the cover part can be easily replaced.

  Furthermore, in the cabinet of Claim 3, and the storage system of Claim 5, the wall member which comprises a cover part is comprised by the sheet | seat body which has a softness | flexibility. For this reason, according to this cabinet and storage system, while being able to comprise a cover part lightweight, manufacturing cost can be held down low enough.

  Further, in the cabinet according to claim 4 and the storage system according to claim 5, the area between the installation area of the cabinet body and the cover part in the internal space of the cover part is defined as the first area on the front side of the cabinet body and the cabinet body. A partition wall that is divided into a second region on the back side is provided inside the cover portion, and an exhaust opening is provided so as to communicate with the second region. Therefore, according to this cabinet and the storage system, the mixing of the normal temperature air introduced from the intake opening of the cover portion and the exhaust gas whose temperature has risen can be suppressed, and as a result, the cabinet is stored inside the cabinet body. The cooling efficiency of the storage object can be sufficiently improved.

  Hereinafter, the best mode of a cabinet and a storage system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of the storage system 1 will be described. A storage system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example of a storage system according to the present invention, and includes a cabinet 2, an exhaust pipe 3, and an exhaust mechanism 4.

  The cabinet 2 is an example of a cabinet according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cabinet 2 includes an cabinet main body 11 and a cover portion 12, and is an electronic device (for example, a server shown in FIG. 100). The cabinet body 11 is an example of a cabinet body according to the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the four columns 21 and a plurality of (in this example, five) shelves supported by the columns 21. The board 22 is provided so that a plurality of servers 100 can be placed. In this case, the cabinet body 11 is configured to be able to change the vertical position of each shelf plate 22 with respect to the column 21.

  The cover part 12 is an example of the cover part in this invention, Comprising: As shown to FIG.1, 5, it is comprised separately from the cabinet main body 11, and is comprised so that the cabinet main body 11 can be covered. . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover unit 12 includes four support members 41, front plates (doors) 51 and 51, rear plates 52, side plates 53, and the like attached to the support members 41. 53 and the top plate 54 (in this case, each plate 51-54 is equivalent to the wall member in this invention), and is comprised by the vertically long box shape as a whole. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the size of the cover portion 12 is defined such that the plates 51 to 54 are separated from the cabinet body 11 by a predetermined distance when the cabinet body 11 is covered (installed state). Has been. In this case, in this cover part 12, in order to make the cabinet main body 11 visible from the outside, each plate 51-54 is comprised with the board | plate material which has light transmittance (for example, the resin plate and glass plate which have light transmittance). Has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front plates 51, 51, the back plate 52 and the side plates 53, 53 have their lower ends positioned above the lower end of the support member 41 by a predetermined length. It is attached as follows. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, a gap is formed between the floor surface on which the cover 12 (cabinet 2) is installed and each of the plates 51 to 53, and this gap is the air outside the cover 12. Functions as an intake opening 61 for introducing the air into the cover portion 12. Further, the top plate 54 is formed with an exhaust opening 62 to which the exhaust pipe 3 can be connected. In this case, the formation position of the exhaust opening 62 (specifically, the position on the back plate 52 side of the top plate 54) is defined so as to communicate with a second region 72 described later.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a partition wall 55 that protrudes toward the center of the internal space of the cover portion 12 is provided inside the cover portion 12. In this case, the partition wall 55 is formed along the vertical direction at an intermediate portion in the depth direction (the direction from the front plate 51 side toward the back plate 52 side) on the inner surface of the side plates 53, 53, and the inner surface of the top plate 54. Are formed along the width direction (the direction from one side plate 53 toward the other side plate 53) in the intermediate portion in the depth direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the partition wall 55 covers the area between the installation area of the cabinet body 11 and the cover section 12 in the internal space of the cover section 12 in the state where the cabinet body 11 is covered. It has a function of partitioning into a first region 71 on the 11a side and a second region 72 on the back surface 11b side of the cabinet body 11.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the exhaust pipe 3 is attached to the exhaust opening 62 of the cover portion 12, and as shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust pipe 3 is installed at the installation place (where the cover portion 12 of the cabinet 2 and the cabinet 2 are installed). For example, it is piped between the outside (outdoor 300) of the installation room 200) shown in FIG. The exhaust mechanism 4 is composed of, for example, an exhaust fan, and exhausts the air inside the cover portion 12 to the outdoors 300 through the exhaust pipe 3.

  Next, an example of how to use the storage system 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The storage system 1 is used, for example, when storing a server 100 to be operated in an installation room 200 as shown in FIG. When the storage system 1 is used in such a form, the cabinet body 11 is installed at a predetermined position in the installation room 200. Subsequently, the cover part 12 is installed so that the cabinet main body 11 may be covered. In this case, when installing the cover portion 12, first, the support member 41 is disposed so as to surround the cabinet body 11, and then, as shown in FIG. 4, front plates 51, 51, a back plate 52, side plates. 53 and 53 and the top plate 54 are attached to the support member 41, and the cover part 12 is assembled.

  Next, the partition wall 55 is attached to the inside of the cover portion 12 (inner surfaces of the side plates 53 and 53 and the top plate 54). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the installation position of the cover portion 12 (positioning position of the support member 41) is adjusted so that the plates 51 to 54 are separated from the cabinet body 11 by a predetermined distance. In this state, as shown in the figure, the area between the installation area of the cabinet body 11 and the plates 51 to 54 of the cover part 12 in the internal space of the cover part 12 is provided inside the cover part 12. The partition wall 55 is partitioned into a first region 71 on the front surface 11 a side of the cabinet body 11 and a second region 72 on the back surface 11 b side of the cabinet body 11.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust mechanism 4 is installed on the outer wall 201 of the installation chamber 200, for example. Next, the exhaust pipe 3 is piped between the cover portion 12 of the cabinet 2 and the outdoor 300 (outside the installation chamber 200), and one end portion of the exhaust pipe 3 is attached to the exhaust opening 62 of the cover portion 12, The other end of the exhaust pipe 3 is connected to the exhaust mechanism 4. Thus, the installation of the storage system 1 is completed. Subsequently, the server 100 is placed and stored on the shelf 22 of the cabinet body 11 in the installed cabinet 2.

  In the state where the server 100 stored in the cabinet 2 in the storage system 1 installed as described above is in operation, heat is released from the server 100. On the other hand, in the storage system 1, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 5, room temperature air outside the cover portion 12 (inside the installation chamber 200) is introduced into the cover portion 12 from the intake opening 61 of the cover portion 12. Is done. At this time, the air introduced into the cover portion 12 is sucked from the front side of the server 100 (front side 11 a side of the cabinet body 11) through the first region 71, and is heated by the heat released from the server 100. As a result, the temperature around the server 100 is maintained below a predetermined temperature (cooled).

  On the other hand, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 5, the air (hot air) whose temperature has been increased by the heat from the server 100 is returned to the back side of the server 100 (the back side of the cabinet body 11) by an exhaust fan (not shown) in the server 100. 11b) to the second region 72 of the cover portion 12. At this time, the warm air discharged to the second region 72 rises to the ceiling portion of the cover portion 12 through the second region 72 and passes through the exhaust opening 62 and the exhaust pipe 3 by suction by the exhaust mechanism 4. And discharged to the outdoors 300.

  In this case, in the storage system 1, as described above, the warm air that has risen in temperature due to the heat released from the server 100 is discharged to the outdoor 300 through the exhaust pipe 3. Is prevented. For this reason, in this storage system 1, the temperature inside the installation room 200 due to the discharge of warm air into the installation room 200 and the temperature inside the cabinet 2 (inside the cover part 12) due to the temperature rise inside the installation room 200. The rise can be prevented at a low cost without using a large air-conditioning facility. In the storage system 1, as described above, the area between the installation area of the cabinet body 11 and the plates 51 to 54 of the cover section 12 in the internal space of the cover section 12 is separated from the cabinet body 11 by the partition wall 55. A first area 71 on the front surface 11 a side and a second area 72 on the rear surface 11 b side of the cabinet body 11 are partitioned. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, the normal temperature air introduced from the intake opening 61 of the cover 12 is sucked from the front side of the server 100 through the first region 71, and the exhaust fan in the server 100. The warm air discharged from the back side of the server 100 (the back side 11b side of the cabinet body 11) by the (not shown) to the second region 72 is discharged to the outdoors 300 while the flow into the first region 71 is suppressed to a small extent. . That is, in the storage system 1, the mixing of the normal temperature air introduced from the outside of the cover 12 and the hot air whose temperature has been increased is suppressed to a low level. For this reason, in this storage system 1, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the server 100 by air at normal temperature introduced from the outside of the cover 12.

  Thus, the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1 are provided with the intake opening 61 for introducing external air and the exhaust opening 62 to which the exhaust pipe 3 for discharging the internal air can be connected. The cabinet 2 is configured to include a cover portion 12 that covers the cabinet body 11. Therefore, in the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the exhaust pipe 3 attached to the exhaust opening 62 of the cover portion 12 is piped to the outdoor 300, so that the temperature is increased by the heat released from the server 100 stored in the cabinet 2. The elevated warm air can be discharged to the outdoor 300 through the exhaust pipe 3. Therefore, according to the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the discharge of warm air into the installation room 200 in which the cabinet 2 is installed is prevented, and as a result, the inside of the installation room 200 due to the discharge of warm air into the installation room 200. Temperature rise and the accompanying temperature rise inside the cabinet 2 (inside the cover portion 12) can be reliably prevented at low cost without using a large air conditioning facility. Further, according to the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the intake opening 61 is provided at the lower end portion of the cover portion 12 and the exhaust opening 62 is provided at the ceiling portion of the cover portion 12. Air of relatively low temperature near the floor surface of 200 can be efficiently introduced from the lower end portion of the cover portion 12, and warm air rising upward is efficiently discharged from the ceiling portion of the cover portion 12. Can do.

  Further, in the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the cover portion 12 is configured separately from the cabinet body 11. For this reason, in this cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, only the cover part 12 can be replaced | exchanged in the state which installed the cabinet main body 11. FIG. Therefore, according to the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, for example, when it is necessary to replace the cover portion 12 due to damage or the like, the replacement operation of the cover portion 12 can be easily performed.

  Further, in the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the area between the installation area of the cabinet body 11 and the plates 51 to 54 of the cover section 12 in the internal space of the cover section 12 is the first on the front surface 11 a side of the cabinet body 11. A partition wall 55 that is divided into a region 71 and a second region 72 on the back surface 11 b side of the cabinet body 11 is provided inside the cover portion 12, and an exhaust opening 62 is provided so as to communicate with the second region 72. . For this reason, according to the cabinet 2 and the storage system 1, the mixing of the normal temperature air introduced from the intake opening 61 of the cover portion 12 and the exhaust gas whose temperature has increased can be suppressed, and the server 100 can be cooled. Efficiency can be improved sufficiently.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration described above. For example, although an example in which the cover unit 12 is configured separately from the cabinet body 11 has been described above, the cover unit 12 may be configured integrally with the cabinet body 11. Moreover, although it described above about the example which comprised each plate 51-54 as a wall member which comprises the cover part 12 with the board | plate material which has a light transmittance, the material of these each plate 51-54 is not specifically limited, A metal material Any material such as wood or wood can be used. In this case, it can replace with each board 51-54, and can also comprise a wall member with the sheet | seat body which has a softness | flexibility. According to this configuration, the cover portion 12 can be configured to be lightweight, and the manufacturing cost can be sufficiently reduced.

  Moreover, although the example which accommodates electronic devices, such as the server 100, was mentioned above, the to-be-contained body accommodated in the cabinet 2 is not specifically limited, Of course, arbitrary things can be accommodated. Further, a configuration in which air inside the cover 12 (warm air exhausted from the server 100) is naturally exhausted to the outdoors 300 (outside the installation room 200) through the exhaust pipe 3 without the exhaust mechanism 4 being provided. You can also Further, plate members are disposed on the front surface 11a, the back surface 11b, the side surface, and the top surface of the cabinet body 11 to form the cabinet body 11 in a box shape, and the plate member disposed on the front surface 11a is provided with an intake port. A configuration in which an exhaust port is provided in the plate member disposed on the back surface 11b may be employed.

  Further, by attaching the plates 51 to 53 so that each lower end portion is positioned above the lower end portion of the support member 41 by a predetermined length, four sides of the lower end portion of the cover portion 12 (front side, back side and The configuration example in which the intake openings 61 are formed on both side surfaces has been described above, but the lower end portions of the back plate 52 and the side plate 53 are located at the same position as the lower end portions of the support member 41 (the floor surface and each plate). Adopting a configuration in which the plates 52 and 53 are attached and the intake opening 61 is formed only on the front surface side of the cover portion 12 so that there is no gap or a slight gap between them. You can also In this case, the partition wall 55 is configured so that the lower end portion of the partition wall 55 is located at the same position as the lower end portion of the support member 41, and the first region 71 and the second region 72 are extended from the upper end portion of the cover portion 12 to the lower end portion. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that divides up to. Furthermore, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a caster is attached to the bottom of the cabinet body 11 or the lower end portion of the support member 41 in the cover portion 12 so that the cabinet body 11 and the cover portion 12 can be easily moved.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a storage system 1. FIG. It is the perspective view of the cabinet main body 11 seen from the front surface 11a side. It is the perspective view of the cabinet main body 11 seen from the back surface 11b side. 3 is a perspective view of a cover part 12. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a cabinet 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage system 2 Cabinet 3 Exhaust pipe 4 Exhaust mechanism 11 Cabinet main body 11a Front surface 11b Rear surface 12 Cover part 21 Column 22 Shelf board 41 Support member 51 Front panel 52 Rear panel 53 Side panel 54 Top panel 55 Bulkhead 61 Intake opening 62 Exhaust Opening 71 first region 72 second region 100 server 200 installation room 201 outer wall 300 outdoor

Claims (5)

A cabinet main body on which the object to be stored can be placed, and a cover that covers the cabinet body, and configured to store the object to be stored.
The cover portion is provided with an intake opening for introducing air outside the cover portion at a lower end portion of the cover portion, and connected to an exhaust pipe for discharging the air inside the cover portion. A cabinet in which possible exhaust openings are provided in the ceiling of the cover.   The cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the cover part is configured separately from the cabinet body.   The cabinet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the wall member constituting the cover part is constituted by a flexible sheet body. Inside the cover part, an area between the installation area of the cabinet body in the internal space of the cover part and the cover part is a first area on the front side of the cabinet body and a first area on the back side of the cabinet body. A partition wall is provided to divide into two regions,
The cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the exhaust opening is provided so as to communicate with the second region.   5. The cabinet according to claim 1, and an exhaust pipe that is attached to the exhaust opening of the cover part and exhausts the air inside the cover part through the exhaust opening. And storage system.

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