JP3534922B2 - Electronic equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electronic device,
In particular, the present invention relates to an electronic device such as a computer that has been operating for a long time and has a cooling unit that cools the device body. 2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional electronic device, a unit that generates a large amount of heat, such as a power supply unit for power supply or a package unit in which a plurality of circuit boards of semiconductor elements are arranged in a frame of the electronic device. Is mounted, and a cooling unit is mounted for cooling them. In particular, in an electronic device such as a computer, the space in which the computer or the like is arranged is air-conditioned to maintain the room temperature at, for example, 25 ° C., and to control the temperature below the floor of the computer body to, for example, about 18 ° C. A cooling unit mounted inside the computer body is used to introduce the cooled air into the frame of the computer body. [0004] Here, when performing maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit, the cooling unit is generally pulled out from the frame of the electronic device main body. In the electronic device rack, the cooling air inlet hole at the bottom and the cooling air outlet at the ceiling are open, but the other side walls are usually closed. When it is pulled out, the drawn out part is opened and the flow path of the cooling air changes, so that the cooling efficiency decreases. [0005] Therefore, usually, at the time of maintenance replacement of the cooling unit, the system operation of the electronic device main body such as a computer is stopped, and then the cooling unit is replaced. [0006] However, recently, in order to increase the operation rate of a computer, a demand for 24-hour operation has been increasing. In order to enable maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit during operation of the system, the cooling capacity of the cooling unit is increased. For example, two cooling units are used for one electronic device, and one cooling unit is used. Even if the cooling unit is stopped for maintenance replacement, the cooling capacity of the other cooling unit may be increased, and predetermined cooling may be performed using the operating cooling unit. However, even if this cooling capacity margin, in other words, the redundancy is increased,
Considering the change in the flow of cooling air when the cooling unit to be replaced for maintenance is pulled out, the cooling unit needs to be considerably enlarged, and there is a problem that the electronic device body also becomes large. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device capable of performing maintenance and replacement of a cooling unit without increasing the redundancy of the cooling unit while keeping the electronic device main body operating. [0008] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an electronic unit requiring cooling, and a plurality of cooling units for cooling the electronic unit. In an electronic device having a unit and a cooling unit mounted on a rack, the cooling unit is drawn out of the rack and inserted into the rack, and the storage box is detachably stored in the storage box. ,
Consists of a fan unit that forms the flow of cooling air,
The storage box has a front panel that closes the opening of the rack when inserted into the rack, and a back panel that closes the opening of the rack when pulled out from the rack. Accordingly, even when performing maintenance replacement of the cooling unit, maintenance replacement can be performed without changing the flow of the cooling air while the electronic apparatus main body is kept operating. An electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. In FIG. 1, a rack 10 of an electronic device is, for example, an input / output processor in a computer.
0 is installed in a space whose temperature is controlled, for example, to about 25 ° C. at room temperature. The rack 10 is installed on a free access floor, and cooling air whose temperature is controlled at, for example, 18 ° C. is introduced from a space under the floor and flows out from the ceiling side of the rack 10. In the frame 10, for example, in the case of an input / output processor, a power supply unit 20 is mounted at the bottom. Above the power supply unit 20, a master unit 30 for input / output control is mounted as a package unit, for example. In addition, Master Unit 3
Above 0, for example, an extension unit 40 used as a package unit is used in accordance with the addition of terminal equipment. Power supply unit 20 and master unit 30
In between, a cooling fan unit 5 as a cooling unit
0 is mounted. The cooling fan unit 50 has a function of introducing cooling air from below the floor in the direction of the arrow X1 to create a flow of cooling air above the arrow X2, thereby cooling the power supply unit 20 and positioning the cooling unit at the upper position. The master unit 30 is also cooled. The master unit 30 and the extension unit 40
In between, a cooling fan unit 6 as a cooling unit
0 is mounted. The cooling fan unit 60 has an arrow X2 formed by the lower cooling fan unit 50.
It has a function of introducing cooling air from the direction and creating a flow of cooling air above the arrow X3, thereby cooling the master unit 30 and also cooling the expansion unit 40 located above. I have. Extension unit 40
Is discharged from the ceiling of the rack 10 in the direction of arrow X4. Next, the detailed structure of the cooling unit 50 will be described. The cooling unit 50 comprises a storage box 52 and a fan unit 54. The storage box 52 has a structure in which the fan unit 54 can be stored and held inside, and the fan unit 54 can be pulled out from above. For this purpose, the storage box 52 has an opening 52 through which air flows in from below.
a and a holding portion 52b for holding the fan unit 54. Further, when the storage box 50 is stored in the rack 10, the storage box 50 forms the same plane as the front panel of the rack 10, and a front panel 52c for preventing air from flowing out of the rack 10; When the storage box is pulled out in the direction of arrow B for maintenance and replacement, the storage box forms the same plane as the front panel of the
A back panel 52d for preventing air from flowing out is provided. The side panels 52e, 5
2f. These side panels 52e, 52f
May be configured as a plate-like member as shown, or may be an angle-like member connecting the front panel 52c and the back panel 52d, as long as the structure can maintain the strength of the storage box 52. A handle 52g is fixed to the front panel 52c, and the user can pull out the storage box 52 from the rack 10 or insert the storage box 52 into the rack 10 by grasping the handle. The fan unit 54 housed and held in the housing box 52 includes a case 54a and a fan 54b housed in the case 54a. The case 54a is provided with a connector 54c for power supply, alarm for fan failure detection, and the like. The connector 54c is configured to be exposed to the outside of the front panel 52c from the opening 52h of the storage box 52. The fan unit 54 can be fixed to the storage box 52 by screws 54d. As described above, the cooling unit 50
Has a configuration in which a fan unit 54 is stored in a storage box 52. The storage box 52 is configured to close an opening formed in the rack 10 when the storage box 52 is pulled out from the rack 10. Since it has 52d, an opening is not formed in the frame 10. When an opening is formed in this portion, for example, an air flow indicated by an arrow Y1 is generated, and a flow of cooling air in an arrow X2 direction is obstructed, and the cooling of the master unit 30 becomes insufficient. When the temperature of the master unit 30 becomes high, the master unit 30 may automatically stop when the temperature becomes high. However, as in the present embodiment, by not changing the flow of the cooling air, the master unit may be adversely affected. The maintenance and replacement of the fan unit can be performed without stopping the system. When the opening is formed, for example, an air flow indicated by an arrow Y2 is generated, and external air may be introduced into the master unit 30 in some cases. Even if the room where the rack 10 is installed is air-conditioned at 25 ° C., for example,
Due to the heat generated by the electronic device inside the frame 10,
For example, since the heated air is heated to about 30 ° C., the heated air is introduced into the master unit 30, and when the temperature becomes high due to the self-temperature management function of the master unit 30, the operation is automatically stopped. However, as in the present embodiment, by not changing the flow of the cooling air, the maintenance and replacement of the fan unit can be performed without affecting the master unit and without stopping the system. . When the storage box 52 is pulled out,
A stopper 70 is used to prevent the storage box 52 from falling off. This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of FIG.
It is an arrow view. A stopper 70 is mounted on the front of the frame 10. The storage box 52 can be pulled out from the opening of the stopper 70, and in the state shown, the side panels 52e and 52f are drawn out. At both ends of the back panel 52d attached to the side panels 52e and 52f, bent portions 52i and 52j are formed. Thus, the storage box 52 is prevented from being pulled out. As shown in the figure, the back panel 52d of the storage box 52 is
The structure is such that the opening on the front surface of the cooling unit is closed, and even if the storage box 52 is pulled out for maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit, the flow of the cooling air does not change. Therefore, even when the cooling unit is replaced by maintenance, the cooling can be continued, so that the electronic device can be kept operating. Further, even if the cooling unit can be maintained and replaced while the electronic device is operating, it is not necessary to increase the redundancy of the cooling unit so much. Can also be made compact. Further, if maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit is to be performed while the electronic device is operating, the opening of the electronic device main body is also closed during this maintenance work. The danger of an operator touching the energized part of the unit can be avoided, and work safety can be ensured. In the above description, the case where a cooling fan is used as a cooling unit has been described. However, the same applies to a case where a blower is used as a cooling unit. The position of the cooling unit is shown in FIG.
As shown in the above, in addition to arranging the cooling unit at a remote position along the flow of the cooling air, it also applies when arranging multiple cooling units side by side at the cooling air inlet at the bottom of the electronic device You can do it. According to the present embodiment, the maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit can be performed without increasing the redundancy of the cooling unit while keeping the electronic apparatus main body in operation. Further, at the time of maintenance work of the cooling unit during operation of the electronic device, it is possible to avoid the danger of the worker touching the energized portion of the package unit and the power supply unit inside the electronic device, thereby ensuring the safety of the operation. According to the present invention, in the electronic device, the maintenance and replacement of the cooling unit can be performed without increasing the redundancy of the cooling unit while keeping the electronic device main body operating. [0031]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an AA view of FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Electronic device frame 20 ... Power supply unit 30 ... Master unit 40 ... Expansion units 50 and 60 ... Cooling fan unit 52 ... Storage box 52a ... Opening 52b ... Holding part 52c ... Front panel 52d ... Back panel 52e, 52f side panel 52g handle 52h opening 52i, 52j bent portion 54 fan unit 54a case 54b fan 54c connector 70 stoppers 70a, 70b notch

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-126000 (JP, A) JP-A-4-115599 (JP, A) JP-A-7-131175 (JP, A) JP-A-7-231186 (JP) JP-A-8-88489 (JP, A) JP-A-5-299861 (JP, A) JP-A-57-6296 (JP, U) JP-A-59-45996 (JP, U) JP-A 57-128194 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 64-29895 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 54-114754 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Utility Model No. 2-56493 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H05K 7/20 H05K 7/18

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] An electronic unit requiring cooling and a plurality of cooling units for cooling the electronic unit, and the electronic unit and the cooling unit are mounted in a frame. A storage box in which the cooling unit can be pulled out of the rack and inserted into the rack, and a fan unit which is freely removably stored in the storage box and forms a flow of cooling air. Wherein the storage box has a front panel that closes the opening of the rack when inserted into the rack, and a back panel that closes the opening of the rack when pulled out from the rack. Electronic device.