JP2010050220A - Rack cabinet and cooling method of electronic device mounted thereon - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rack cabinet capable of sufficiently cooling an electronic device mounted on the rack cabinet, with reduced air volume of air conditioner equipment for saved energy. <P>SOLUTION: The rack cabinet 1 includes a case 4 in which an internal space S separated from the outside is formed, and a louver 5 which is provided to the case 4 and includes a plurality of blades 5a, with angle of the blade 5a being adjustable, to cause cooling air to flow into the internal space S from outside. A plurality of electronic devices 10-13 are mounted in steps in the internal space S. It also includes a temperature sensor for sensing temperature of the cooling air at the mounting positions of the plurality of electronic devices 10-13, and a control part 30 which, based on the sensing signal supplied from the temperature sensor, adjusts the angle of the blade 5a within the range corresponding to the mounting position, so that the flowing-in amount of the air at mounting positions is changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a rack cabinet in which a plurality of electronic devices are mounted in a step shape and a method for cooling an electronic device mounted in the rack cabinet.

  As is well known, for example, in a server room or a network room, a rack cabinet that accommodates a plurality of information processing devices such as server devices and network devices is used. As a kind of such a rack cabinet, a wall portion that constitutes an internal space that is partitioned from the outside and stores information processing devices in a step shape, and a louver portion that is provided on the wall portion and is configured by a plurality of slats There is something with. That is, by using a cooling fan provided in the information processing apparatus or a cooling fan provided separately in the rack cabinet, outside air is caused to flow into the internal space from the gap between the slats constituting the louver portion, so that the heat generated in the information processing apparatus is cooled. It is configured.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing this type of rack cabinet. In this conventional rack cabinet 101, temperature sensor units 120 to 123 are provided inside the information processing devices 110 to 113, and when the values detected by the temperature sensor units 120 to 123 exceed a certain value, the information processing devices 110 to 110 are provided. The cooling fans 140 to 143 included in the 113 are rotated at a high speed to actively take in the outside air, thereby increasing the cooling efficiency of the information processing apparatuses 110 to 113.
As another type of rack cabinet, for example, there is Patent Document 1 below.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-126352

  By the way, a server room, a network room, and the like in which such a rack cabinet is used are usually provided with air conditioning equipment, so that an air flow of a predetermined temperature or less reaches all information processing apparatuses mounted in each rack cabinet. In addition, the air volume and temperature of the air conditioning equipment are determined. Here, the amount of airflow reaching each information processing device and its temperature vary depending on the positional relationship between the rack cabinet in which the information processing device is mounted and the air conditioning equipment, and the mounting position in the rack cabinet. That is, there are information processing devices that do not require much outside air intake under good temperature conditions and information processing devices that have poor temperature conditions and need to actively take outside air. Is set so that the airflow reaches the information processing apparatus having the worst temperature condition.

  However, in the conventional technology, an air volume sufficient to cool the information processing apparatus having the worst temperature condition must always be output regardless of the difference in the necessary outside air intake amount of each information processing apparatus in the rack cabinet. However, there was a problem that the load on the air conditioning equipment increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce the air volume of the air conditioning equipment while sufficiently cooling the electronic equipment mounted in the rack cabinet, thereby saving energy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rack cabinet that can be used and a method for cooling an electronic device mounted in the rack cabinet.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following means.
As a means for solving the rack cabinet, a housing part in which an internal space partitioned from the outside is formed, and the housing part is provided with a plurality of blades and the angle of the blades can be changed. A temperature sensor unit for detecting the temperature of inflow air at each mounting position of the plurality of electronic devices in a rack cabinet having a plurality of electronic devices mounted in a stepped manner in the internal space, and the temperature sensor A controller that changes an angle of the slat belonging to a range corresponding to each mounting position based on a detection signal supplied from the unit, and changes an inflow air amount at each mounting position. Is adopted.

  Further, as a solving means related to the rack cabinet, the casing section includes an entrance / exit through which the electronic device can enter / exit into the internal space, and a door capable of opening / closing the entrance / exit, and the louver section includes the door The means that is provided in

  Further, as a means for solving the rack cabinet, a storage unit that stores the angle of the slats determined for each temperature of the inflowing air is provided, and the control unit refers to the storage unit and the angle of the slats. Is adopted.

  Further, as a means for cooling an electronic device mounted in a rack cabinet, a case part that constitutes an internal space partitioned from the outside in advance and a plurality of slats provided in the case part And a rack cabinet having a louver part capable of changing the angle of the slats, and a plurality of electronic devices are provided in a step shape in the internal space, and the temperature of the inflow air at each mounting position of the plurality of electronic devices When the temperature of the inflowing air is higher than a predetermined temperature, the angle of the slats belonging to the range corresponding to each mounting position is changed to increase the amount of inflowing air at the mounting position, When the temperature of the inflow air is lower than a predetermined temperature, the angle of the slats belonging to the range corresponding to each mounting position is changed to reduce the amount of inflow air at the mounting position. The adopted.

  According to the present invention, since the gas inflow amount at each mounting position is changed based on the temperature of the cooling gas at each mounting position of a plurality of electronic devices, the outside air suction amount can be optimized throughout the rack cabinet. In other words, the angle of the slats corresponding to the mounting position of the electronic device is changed to suppress the outside air sucked in by the electronic device having a relatively good temperature condition, and the reduced outside air is changed to an electronic device having a bad temperature condition. Appropriate amount of intake gas necessary for the whole rack cabinet is made appropriate by adequately cooling the electronic equipment. Therefore, the required air volume output from the air conditioning equipment can be reduced, and energy saving can be achieved.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a rack cabinet 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of rack cabinets 1 are installed in a server room provided with air conditioning equipment capable of adjusting the air volume and temperature, and each rack cabinet accommodates a plurality of information processing apparatuses.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rack cabinet 1 includes a casing 4 having a casing body 2 and a louvered door (door) 3, and temperature sensors provided in information processing apparatuses (electronic devices) 10 to 13. Units 20 to 23 and a louver control unit (control unit) 30.

The housing body 2 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is installed on the floor F of the server room with the longitudinal direction thereof set to the vertical direction. The housing body 2 has an entrance 2a that is formed in most of the front wall 2b and communicates with the internal space S.
Such a case main body 2 has information processing devices 10 to 13 mounted in an internal space S in a step shape.

  The louvered door 3 includes a rectangular frame portion 3a and a louver portion 5 provided on the frame portion 3a. The louvered door 3 is attached to the front wall portion 2b of the casing body 2 via a hinge with the longitudinal direction thereof oriented in the longitudinal direction of the casing body 2, and closes the entrance 2a of the casing body 2.・ It can be released.

The louver part 5 is configured by assembling a plurality of blades 5a on the frame part 3a, and the longitudinal direction of each blade 5a is directed in the short direction of the frame part 3a. In the louver portion 5, each wing plate 5a is divided into a plurality of groups. Specifically, the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 are divided into groups 5A to 5D corresponding to the mounting positions and groups 5E corresponding to other positions. For example, among the slats 5a of the louver unit 5, the slats 5a belonging to the range occupied by the information processing apparatus 10 in the vertical direction are associated as a group 5A.
A small drive motor (not shown) is attached to each of the groups 5A to 5D, and the angle of the blades 5a belonging to each of the groups 5A to 5D can be changed in units of groups. The change of the angle of the wing plate 5a is performed by the louver control unit 30 described later.

The information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 include cooling fans 10 a to 13 a and temperature sensor units 20 to 23.
The cooling fans 10 a to 13 a take in outside air from the outside into the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 via the louver unit 5.
The temperature sensor units 20 to 23 are provided inside the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 and detect the temperature of the outside air taken in by the cooling fans 10a to 13a. The temperature sensor units 20 to 23 supply detection signals to the louver control unit 30 via lines L0 to L3, respectively.

The louver control unit 30 changes the angle of the slats 5a belonging to the groups 5A to 5E based on detection signals from the temperature sensor units 20 to 23, and controls the degree of opening and closing of the louver unit 5. Specifically, referring to the storage unit 31 that stores the relationship between the temperature of the outside air indicated by each detection signal and the angle of the slats 5a associated with the temperature of the outside air, a control signal is supplied to the drive motor. The angle of the wing plate 5a is changed to a predetermined angle.
The temperature of the outside air and the angle of the slats 5a are such that when the temperature of the outside air is relatively high, the slats 5a are horizontal, and when the temperature of the outside air is relatively low, the slats 5a Corresponding so as to be substantially vertical, the angles of the slats 5a are associated in a stepwise manner according to each intermediate temperature.
The louver control method is well known to those skilled in the art, and thus its detailed configuration is omitted.

  As described above, a plurality of such rack cabinets 1 are installed in a server room equipped with air conditioning equipment capable of adjusting the air volume and temperature, and airflow A below a predetermined temperature from the air conditioning equipment is in front of each rack cabinet 1. The air volume is set to reach the door.

Next, the operation of the rack cabinet 1 will be described. In the following description, the wing plates 5a of the groups 5A to 5D will be described with the state in which they are oriented in the horizontal direction being the initial setting state.
First, the air conditioner is operated and the airflow A reaches the louvered doors 3 of all the rack cabinets 1.
In this state, the cooling fans 10 a to 13 a of the information processing devices 10 to 13 cause the outside air to flow into the internal space S through the louver unit 5 and take in the outside air into the information processing devices 10 to 13.

  The outside air taken into the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 passes through the inside of the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 while being cooled, and is discharged from the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13. At this time, the temperature of each airflow A that has passed through each of the information processing devices 10 to 13 rises according to the temperature of the information processing devices 10 to 13. The outside air discharged from the information processing devices 10 to 13 is discharged to the outside through a discharge hole formed in the housing unit 4.

  The temperature sensor parts 20-23 detect each temperature of the raised outside air, and supply the detection signal corresponding to this detection result to the louver control part 30 via the lines L0-L3.

  Upon receiving this detection signal, the louver control unit 30 refers to the storage unit 31 and refers to the angles of the slats 5a of the groups 5A to 5D corresponding to the detection signals. And based on this reference result, a control signal is supplied to the drive motor provided in each group 5A-5D, respectively, and the angle of the blade 5a is changed per group.

  In general, in the server room, the temperature in the upper part of the server room tends to be higher than the temperature in the lower part of the server room due to warm air from the information processing devices 10 to 13. That is, the temperature distribution of the airflow A is biased due to the difference in the temperature of the server room, and the temperature distribution of the outside air of the same rack cabinet 1 tends to be higher in the upper part than in the lower part. For this reason, the temperature of the outside air taken into the information processing devices 10 to 13 mounted in each rack cabinet 1 is also the lowest in the information processing device 10 and tends to increase sequentially from the information processing device 10 toward the information processing device 13. is there. That is, outside air having a low temperature tends to be taken in the order of the information processing apparatuses 10, 11, 12, and 13, and the temperature condition tends to be improved in this order.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the detection signal of the temperature sensor unit 20 corresponds to a temperature higher than the detection signals of the temperature sensor units 21 to 23, the louver control unit 30 is attached to the group 5A. The control signal is supplied to the drive motor that has been changed to change the angle so that the wing plate 5a of the group 5A faces downward. On the other hand, when the detection signals of the groups 5B to 5D correspond to temperatures indicating a predetermined temperature or higher, the wing plates 5a of the groups 5B to 5D are kept in a horizontal state.

  By controlling in this way, it is not necessary to take more outside air than necessary into the information processing apparatus 10, and this excess outside air is applied to the other information processing apparatuses 11 to 13. That is, since the outside air taken into the information processing apparatus 10 has a relatively low temperature, even if the amount of outside air taken into the information processing apparatus 11 is small, it can be sufficiently cooled. Therefore, it is not necessary to assign the airflow A to the information processing apparatus 11 more than necessary, and this amount of airflow A reaches the groups 5B to 5D and other rack cabinets 1 downstream.

  The louver control unit 30 mounted on each rack cabinet 1 changes the opening / closing degrees of the groups 5A to 5D according to the temperature conditions of the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 mounted on the rack cabinets 1 respectively. With this control, the airflow A becomes necessary and sufficient even if the air conditioning equipment is set to the minimum necessary air volume.

  Further, for example, when the amount of heat generated by the information processing apparatus 11 in the rack cabinet 1 increases, the temperature sensor unit 21 detects an increase in temperature via the outside air flowing inside the information processing apparatus 11 and the wing plate 5a. The angle of the air is made almost horizontal, and the intake amount of outside air is increased to optimize the cooling efficiency. The rack cabinet 1 located downstream of the air flow A from the rack cabinet 1 changes the angle of the slats 5a in response to the decrease in the air flow A.

  In this way, the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 mounted in the plurality of rack cabinets 1 are appropriately cooled with the minimum necessary air volume. Further, even when the temperature of the air conditioning equipment is changed, when the rack cabinet 1 is added, or when the arrangement is changed, an appropriate air volume is selected accordingly.

  As described above, according to the rack cabinet 1, the inflow amount of the outside air at each mounting position is changed based on the temperature of the outside air at each mounting position of the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13, so that the entire rack cabinet 1 sucks the outside air. The amount is optimized. That is, the angle of the slats 5a corresponding to the positions of the information processing devices 10 to 13 mounted on the rack cabinet 1 is changed to suppress the outside air inhaled by the information processing device 10 having relatively good temperature conditions. By applying the reduced amount of outside air to the information processing apparatuses 11 to 13 having poor temperature conditions, the amount of outside air necessary for the entire rack cabinet 1 is made appropriate while the information processing apparatus 10 is sufficiently cooled. Therefore, the required air volume output from the air conditioning equipment can be reduced, and energy saving can be achieved.

  Further, when a plurality of rack cabinets 1 are provided in the room as in the present embodiment, the amount of outside air sucked into the rack cabinet 1 located upstream of the airflow A is limited, so that the downstream of the airflow A is reduced. It can be used for the rack cabinet 1 located. Thereby, further energy saving can be achieved.

  Moreover, since the louvered door 3 is provided, it is possible to easily carry in / out the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 and to improve the maintainability.

  Moreover, since the memory | storage part 31 which memorize | stored the angle of the slat 5a defined for every temperature of external air is provided, the angle of the slat 5a can be controlled finely and the optimization of inflow external air quantity can be measured.

  Further, the louver control unit 30 sets the angle of the slats 5a so that when the temperature of the outside air is relatively high, the slats 5a become horizontal, and when the temperature is relatively low, the slats 5a Since the angle of the slats 5a is changed stepwise according to each intermediate temperature, the amount of change in the amount of outside air flowing in can be increased, and the amount of outside air flowing in Can be measured.

  Moreover, since the temperature sensor units 20 to 23 are provided inside the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13, the temperature change of the information processing apparatuses 10 to 13 can be quickly detected and the inflow air amount can be changed in advance. Can do.

Note that the operation procedure shown in the above-described embodiment, various shapes and combinations of the constituent members, and the like are examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, a drive motor is provided for each of the groups 5A to 5D and each wing plate 5a is controlled in units of groups. However, the wing plate 5a may be controlled independently.

  In the above-described embodiment, the electronic device is not provided at the position corresponding to the group 5E. However, the electronic device may be provided.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a rack cabinet 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional rack cabinet.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Rack cabinet 2 ... Housing | casing main body 2a ... Entrance / exit 3 ... Door with louver (door)
4 ... Case 5 ... Louvre 5a ... Sleeve S ... Internal space 10-13 ... Information processing apparatus (electronic device)
20-23 ... Temperature sensor part 30 ... Louver control part (control part)
31. Storage unit

Claims (6)

A housing part in which an internal space partitioned from the outside is formed;
A louver portion provided in the housing portion, configured with a plurality of slats and having an angle of the slats capable of being changed to allow cooling gas to flow into the internal space from the outside;
In a rack cabinet in which a plurality of electronic devices are mounted in a stepped manner in the internal space,
A temperature sensor unit for detecting the temperature of the cooling gas at each mounting position of the plurality of electronic devices;
Based on the detection signal supplied from the temperature sensor unit, changing the angle of the slats belonging to the range corresponding to each mounting position, and changing the gas inflow amount of each mounting position;
A rack cabinet comprising: The housing portion includes a housing body in which the internal space is formed and an entrance through which the electronic device can be entered and exited, and a door that can open and close the entrance,
The rack cabinet according to claim 1, wherein the louver portion is provided on the door. A storage unit that stores the angle of the slats determined for each temperature of the inflowing gas,
The rack cabinet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit changes the angle of the slats with reference to the storage unit.   The controller changes the angle of the slats so that the gas inflow increases as the temperature of the cooling gas increases, and the gas inflow decreases as the temperature of the cooling gas decreases. It changes as follows. The rack cabinet as described in any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. An electronic device is accommodated in the internal space,
The rack cabinet according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the temperature sensor is provided inside the electronic device.   A rack cabinet provided with a casing part that constitutes an internal space partitioned from the outside in advance, and a louver part that is provided in the casing part and that is composed of a plurality of slats and can change the angle of the slats Preparing a plurality of electronic devices in the inner space in stages, measuring the temperature of the cooling gas at each mounting position of the plurality of electronic devices, and if the temperature of the cooling gas is higher than a predetermined temperature When the angle of the slat belonging to the range corresponding to each mounting position is changed to increase the amount of inflow air at the mounting position, and when the temperature of the cooling gas is lower than a predetermined temperature, each mounting position A method for cooling an electronic device mounted on a rack cabinet, wherein the angle of the slats belonging to a range corresponding to is changed to reduce a gas inflow amount at the mounting position.

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