JP2012138426A - Liquid cooling chassis - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid cooling chassis including a small and lightweight liquid cooling system which achieves low power consumption.SOLUTION: A liquid cooling chassis integrally includes: bellows-like passages in which a refrigerant is circulated; a container housing the refrigerant; a pump circulating the refrigerant in the passages; and a blower cooling the refrigerant flowing the passages. The refrigerant flowing the passages takes heat from multiple circuit boards housed in the liquid cooling chassis, in other words, electronic components mounted in the circuit boards. The refrigerant flowing the passages is cooled by wind of the blower. The liquid cooling chassis is detachably mounted on a mobile object such as aircrafts.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a liquid cooling chassis containing a plurality of circuit boards on which electronic components are mounted.

  In recent years, electronic devices mounted on aircraft have advanced in functionality in addition to demands for miniaturization and weight reduction, and the problem of heat generation of electronic components is increasing as signal processing speeds up. In particular, when mounting a chassis with multiple circuit boards mounted with a large number of electronic components mounted on an aircraft, it is difficult to sufficiently cool the electronic components due to the high-density layout of the circuit boards. Yes.

  For this reason, a liquid cooling system having a higher cooling capacity than air cooling is becoming mainstream for cooling circuit boards accommodated in the chassis. This cooling system includes a cooling device that is separate from the chassis and that feeds refrigerant to be circulated through a bellows-shaped flow path attached to the chassis. Since an aircraft usually has a plurality of chassis mounted thereon, the cooling device is connected to the plurality of chassis via a plurality of pipes.

DAVES. STEINBERG, “Practical Manual for Cooling Technology of Latest Electronic Devices” JATEC Publishing, November 25, 1989, p. 71, FIG. 4.3, p. 292, FIG. 10.9, p. 293, FIG. 10.10, FIG. 10.11

  However, in addition to a large number of chassis of the type described above being mounted on the aircraft, a large number of other electronic devices equipped with a large number of electronic components that generate heat are also mounted. A cooling device having a relatively large capacity is required for a cooling device that plays a role of feeding in water.

  That is, such a cooling device is inevitably heavy and large, consumes a lot of power, and increases the amount of refrigerant used. In particular, this cooling device requires a plurality of pipes for circulation of the refrigerant that communicates with electronic equipment and the chassis, the pump for circulating the refrigerant is increased in size, and there is a problem of heat generation of the apparatus itself.

  In particular, it is known that a refrigerant having an appropriate viscosity according to the environmental temperature needs to be used, and a refrigerant used in an aircraft having a low environmental temperature needs to use an antifreeze liquid having a relatively high viscosity. . For this reason, when the pipe connecting the electronic device or the chassis and the cooling device becomes long, a pump for circulating the refrigerant is required to have a high liquid feed pressure, and it is necessary to use a relatively large and powerful pump. is there.

  For this reason, development of the liquid cooling system which does not require such a cooling device, is small, lightweight, and consumes little power is desired.

  The liquid cooling chassis according to the embodiment is integrally provided with a bellows-like flow path for circulating the refrigerant, a container containing the refrigerant, a pump for circulating the refrigerant through the flow path, and a blower for cooling the refrigerant flowing through the flow path. . The plurality of circuit boards housed in the liquid cooling chassis, that is, the electronic components mounted on the circuit boards, are deprived of heat by the refrigerant flowing through the flow path, and the refrigerant flowing through the flow path is cooled by the wind of the blower. This liquid cooling chassis is detachably mounted on a moving body such as an aircraft.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a liquid cooling chassis according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a main part of the liquid cooling chassis of FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a liquid cooling chassis according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a liquid cooling chassis 10 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part of the liquid cooling chassis 10. In the following description, the illustrated x-axis direction may be referred to as the front-rear direction, the illustrated y-axis direction may be referred to as the left-right direction, and the illustrated z-axis direction may be referred to as the up-down direction.

  The liquid cooling chassis 10 of the present embodiment is for accommodating a plurality of circuit boards 2 mounted with a plurality of electronic components (not shown) in close proximity to each other with a gap in the front-rear direction and standing upright. It is. The liquid-cooled chassis 10 is a unit that can be detachably mounted on an aircraft such as an airplane, helicopter, jet, or propeller, or can be mounted on another moving body such as a vehicle or a ship.

  The liquid cooling chassis 10 includes a side panel 4 (heat absorbing member) in which one end side (the left end side in the figure) of each of the plurality of circuit boards 2 is in contact, A side panel 6 (heat absorbing member) with its end sides (the right end side in the drawing) in contact with each other, a front panel 8 connecting the front end sides of the two parallel side panels 4 and 6 spaced apart from each other, and the three panels A bottom panel 1 is provided that connects the lower end sides and abuts the lower end sides of each circuit board 2.

  The two side panels 4 and 6 are provided with bellows-like flow paths 4a and 6a (heat absorption flow paths) for circulating the refrigerant, respectively. Each of the flow paths 4a and 6a constitutes a flow path connected in a bellows shape by arranging a plurality of partition plates 5 extending in the front-rear direction in a nested manner. That is, by attaching a cover (not shown) that covers substantially the entire outer surfaces of the two side panels 4 and 6, bellows-like flow paths 4 a and 6 a that are partitioned by the plurality of partition plates 5 are formed. . Here, only the plurality of partition plates 5 constituting the flow path 4a of one side panel 4 are shown, but the other side panel 6 also has the same structure.

  The front panel 8 includes a handle 8a that is gripped by an operator when the liquid-cooled chassis 10 is mounted on a body such as an aircraft. In addition, the front panel 8 includes a plurality of external connectors (not shown) for connecting the plurality of circuit boards 2 accommodated in the liquid cooling chassis 10 to other peripheral electronic devices (not shown). Is provided. The external connector also functions as a power supply connector for supplying power to a pump 26 and a blower 28 of the liquid cooling unit 20 described later.

  On the upper surface 1 a of the bottom panel 1, that is, on the bottom surface 1 a of the liquid cooling chassis 10, a plurality of connectors (not shown) for connecting connectors (not shown) provided on the lower ends of the circuit boards 2 are provided. The bottom panel 1 is provided with a motherboard (not shown).

  That is, each of the plurality of circuit boards 2 is electrically connected to the mother board via a connector (not shown). Further, a connector (not shown) for connecting a mother board to an external connector (not shown) of the front panel 8 is provided on the front side of the bottom panel 1.

  Each of the plurality of circuit boards 2 is inserted from the upper surface side (released in FIG. 1) of the liquid cooling chassis 10 with both ends thereof in contact with the inner surfaces of the side panels 4 and 6, as shown in the figure. Are arranged at equal intervals in the front-rear direction and accommodated in the liquid cooling chassis 10. At this time, a connector (not shown) on the lower end side of each circuit board 2 is connected to a connector of a motherboard (not shown).

  An upper panel (not shown) is attached so as to close the upper end sides of the two side panels 4 and 6 and the front panel 8. This upper panel is not necessarily an essential configuration for the invention.

  On the rear side of the liquid cooling chassis 10, a liquid cooling unit 20 is provided for circulating the refrigerant through the flow paths 4 a and 6 a of the side panels 4 and 6 described above. The refrigerant used in the liquid cooling chassis 10 is, for example, an antifreeze liquid such as a coolant contained in an automobile radiator. In this embodiment, an ethylene glycol aqueous solution having a relatively high concentration according to the environmental temperature is used. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid cooling unit 20 includes a reservoir tank 22 (container), a radiator 24 (heat radiating member), a pump 26, and a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of blowers 28 (blowers). . The radiator 24 includes a bellows-shaped heat radiation channel (not shown). Similar to the flow paths 4a and 6a of the side panels 4 and 6, this heat radiation flow path is configured by connecting a plurality of flow paths extending in the left-right direction in a bellows shape.

  The upper end of the flow path 4a extending to the vicinity of the rear end side of one side panel 4 is connected to the reservoir tank 22 via the pipe 21a, and the upper end of the flow path 6a extending to the vicinity of the rear end side of the other side panel 6 Is also connected to the reservoir tank 22 via a pipe 21b. Further, one end (the upper end portion in the drawing) of the radiator 24 (not shown) of the radiator 24 is connected to the bottom of the reservoir tank 22.

  On the other hand, the other end (lower end portion in the drawing) of the radiator 24 (not shown) of the radiator 24 is connected to the input end of the pump 26. Further, the output end of the pump 26 is branched in two directions, and one output end is connected to the lower end of the flow path 4a extending to the vicinity of the rear end side of the side panel 4 through the pipe 27a, and the other end The output end is connected to the lower end of the flow path 6a extending to the vicinity of the rear end side of the side panel 6 through the pipe 27b.

  Thus, when the pump 26 is operated, the refrigerant stored in the reservoir tank 22 flows into the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 24, and the refrigerant discharged from the heat dissipation flow path flows into the input end of the pump 26. At this time, since the refrigerant flowing through the bellows-like heat radiation flow path of the radiator 24 flows downward along the direction of gravity, the refrigerant can be flowed by its own weight, and a pump is installed on the upstream side of the heat radiation flow path of the radiator 24. There is no need to provide it.

  Then, the refrigerant sent out from the pump 26 flows into the flow paths 4a and 6a of the side panels 4 and 6 through the pipes 27a and 27b, respectively, and moves upward in the flow paths 4a and 6a against gravity. Circulate. At this time, the refrigerant flows in the direction against the gravity (upward in the drawing) while going back and forth in the flow path, but the flow paths 4a and 6a are connected immediately downstream of the pump 26, so the refrigerant is raised. It is possible to generate a sufficient hydraulic pressure.

  Furthermore, the refrigerant that has flowed up through the flow paths 4a and 6a of the side panels 4 and 6 is returned to the reservoir tank 22 from the upper ends of the flow paths 4a and 6a through the pipes 21a and 21b. The refrigerant returned to the reservoir tank 22 in this way is heated when flowing through the flow paths 4a and 6a of the side panels 4 and 6, and the temperature thereof rises. That is, the heat transmitted to the two side panels 4 and 6 in contact with the plurality of circuit boards 2 is absorbed by the refrigerant flowing through the flow paths 4a and 6a of the side panels 4 and 6, and the temperature of the refrigerant rises. .

  The refrigerant whose temperature has been increased in this way is sent out from the reservoir tank 22 and flows through the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 24, by applying wind to the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 24 through the plurality of blowers 28, It is gradually cooled while flowing through the road. Desirably, the refrigerant is cooled to the ambient temperature when it flows out of the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 24.

  When the liquid-cooled chassis 10 is mounted on an aircraft, the liquid-cooled chassis 10 is generally arranged in a space where people are present, and the ambient temperature in this case is about 20 degrees. That is, in the liquid cooling chassis 10, the heated refrigerant can be cooled to a temperature of about 20 degrees.

  The cooling air for cooling the refrigerant is sucked by each of the blowers 28 and exhausted to the rear side of the liquid cooling chassis 10, but the inflow path of the cooling air toward each of the blowers 28 is in each side panel 4, 6. It becomes the window parts 4b and 6b provided in the rear side. These window portions 4b and 6b are connected to the window portions of the liquid cooling chassis 10 on both sides in a state where a plurality of liquid cooling chassis 10 are mounted side by side, and can effectively take in cooling air.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to provide a cooling device separate from the chassis for cooling the refrigerant on the airframe side of a moving body such as an aircraft, and the liquid cooling chassis 10 alone is self-contained. A mold liquid cooling system can be provided. This eliminates the need for a relatively large and space-saving cooling device, and can effectively utilize the internal space of the aircraft. Further, since a relatively heavy cooling device is not required, the weight of the body can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since a relatively large cooling device is not required, the power consumption of the entire system can be kept low.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, a pipe that connects a plurality of chassis and a separate cooling device from the chassis is not required as in the prior art, and accordingly, the piping space can be reduced and the body can be lightened by the pipe weight. In particular, it is known that the viscosity of the refrigerant (antifreeze) used in aircraft is relatively high, and the capacity of the pump increases as the pipe connecting the cooling device and the chassis becomes longer. When it becomes unnecessary, a large pump is also unnecessary, which is advantageous in terms of power consumption and space.

  In addition, since the liquid cooling chassis 10 of the present embodiment can be attached in place of the conventional chassis that does not have a cooling device, it can be mounted on a body that does not have a cooling device separately from the chassis. In other words, even an airframe that does not have space for mounting a cooling device can be mounted with the liquid cooling chassis 10 of this embodiment, so that the cooling system can be freely designed and the system layout design freedom on the airframe side can be freely designed. It can also be increased.

  Furthermore, if the self-contained liquid cooling chassis 10 is used as in this embodiment, it is not necessary to have a relationship with the cooling system of other electronic devices, and the liquid cooling chassis 10 can be easily attached and detached. .

  Next, the liquid cooling chassis 30 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The liquid cooling chassis 30 has substantially the same structure as the liquid cooling chassis 10 of the first embodiment described above except that it includes two sets of liquid cooling units 30a and 30b that are independent of each other. Constituent elements that function in the same manner are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  This liquid cooling chassis 30 is a refrigerant (as a liquid cooling unit 30a) connected to one end of a bellows-like channel 4a (first heat absorption channel) of one side panel 4 (first heat absorption member) ( A reservoir tank 31a (first container) for storing a first refrigerant), a radiator 32a (heat radiating member) connected to the bottom of the reservoir tank 31a, an input end connected to the outlet side of the radiator 32a, and a flow path The pump 33a (first pump) whose output end is connected to the other end of 4a and the bellows-like heat radiation channel (first heat radiation channel) (not shown) of the radiator 32a are arranged to face each other. A plurality (two in the present embodiment) of blowers 34a (first air blower) are provided.

  The liquid cooling chassis 30 is connected to one end of a bellows-shaped flow path 6a (second heat absorption flow path) of the other side panel 6 (second heat absorption member) as the other liquid cooling unit 30b. A reservoir tank 31b (second container) for storing the refrigerant (second refrigerant), a radiator 32b (heat radiating member) connected to the bottom of the reservoir tank 31b, an input end connected to the outlet side of the radiator 32b, and The pump 33b (second pump), whose output end is connected to the other end of the flow path 6a, and the bellows-shaped heat radiation flow path (second heat radiation flow path) (not shown) of the radiator 32b face each other so as to apply wind. A plurality of (two in this embodiment) blowers 34b (second blower).

  When the pump 33a of one liquid cooling unit 30a is operated, the refrigerant accommodated in the reservoir tank 31a flows into a heat radiation channel (not shown) of the radiator 32a, and the refrigerant discharged from the heat radiation channel flows into the input end of the pump 33a. . The refrigerant sent out from the pump 33a flows in from the lower end side of the flow path 4a of the side panel 4, and flows upward in the flow path 4a against gravity. Further, the refrigerant that has flowed up through the flow path 4a of the side panel 4 is returned to the reservoir tank 31a from the upper end of the flow path 4a. Thus, the refrigerant circulates in the liquid cooling unit 30a.

  In addition, the refrigerant returned to the reservoir tank 31a in this way is heated when flowing through the flow path 4a of the side panel 4, and its temperature rises. That is, the heat transmitted to the side panel 4 in contact with the plurality of circuit boards 2 is absorbed by the refrigerant flowing through the flow path 4a of the side panel 4, and the temperature of the refrigerant rises. The refrigerant whose temperature has been increased in this way is sent out from the reservoir tank 31a and flows through the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 32a, by applying wind to the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 32a via the plurality of blowers 34a, thereby It is gradually cooled while flowing through the road.

  Further, when the pump 33b of the other liquid cooling unit 30b is operated, the refrigerant accommodated in the reservoir tank 31b flows into a heat radiation channel (not shown) of the radiator 32b, and the refrigerant discharged from the heat radiation channel reaches the input end of the pump 33b. Inflow. The refrigerant sent out from the pump 33b flows in from the lower end side of the flow path 6a of the side panel 6, and flows upward in the flow path 6a against gravity. Furthermore, the refrigerant that has flowed up through the flow path 6a of the side panel 6 is returned to the reservoir tank 31b from the upper end of the flow path 6a. Thus, the refrigerant circulates in the liquid cooling unit 30b.

  In addition, the refrigerant returned to the reservoir tank 31b in this way is heated when flowing through the flow path 6a of the side panel 6, and its temperature rises. That is, the heat transmitted to the side panel 6 in contact with the plurality of circuit boards 2 is absorbed by the refrigerant flowing through the flow path 6a of the side panel 6, and the temperature of the refrigerant rises. The refrigerant whose temperature has been increased in this way is sent out from the reservoir tank 31b and flows through the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 32b, so that air is applied to the heat dissipation flow path of the radiator 32b through the plurality of blowers 34b. It is gradually cooled while flowing through the road.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to being able to achieve the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above, two independent liquid cooling units 30a and 30b are provided. Compared with the embodiment, the operation reliability can be improved. That is, even when one of the liquid cooling units is down, the circuit board 2 can be cooled by the other liquid cooling unit, and a serious problem that an electronic component breaks down can be prevented.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the flow path for circulating the refrigerant is provided in the side panel has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. May be.

  2 ... Circuit board, 4, 6 ... Side panel, 4a, 6a ... Flow path, 8 ... Front panel, 10 ... Liquid cooling chassis, 20, 30a, 30b ... Liquid cooling unit, 22, 31a, 31b ... Reservoir tank, 24 32a, 32b ... radiator, 26, 33a, 33b ... pump, 28, 34a, 34b ... blower.

Claims (4)

A liquid-cooled chassis in which a plurality of circuit boards each mounted with electronic components are mounted side by side,
At least a portion of the bellows-shaped flow path for circulating the refrigerant;
A container containing a refrigerant to be circulated through the flow path;
A pump for flowing the refrigerant in the container through the flow path;
A blower that cools the refrigerant flowing through the flow path by applying wind to at least a part of the flow path;
A liquid-cooled chassis with an integrated body.   The liquid cooling chassis according to claim 1, wherein the bellows-shaped flow path is disposed along at least a heat absorbing member of the liquid cooling chassis in contact with the plurality of circuit boards. The flow path is arranged in an accordion shape along the heat absorption member of the liquid cooling chassis in contact with the plurality of circuit boards, and is arranged in an accordion shape along the heat dissipation member of the liquid cooling chassis. A heat dissipation channel,
The liquid cooling chassis according to claim 1, wherein the air blower is disposed to face the heat radiating channel. A liquid-cooled chassis in which a plurality of circuit boards each mounted with electronic components are mounted side by side,
A first endothermic flow path disposed in a bellows shape along the first endothermic member of the liquid cooling chassis with which one end sides of the plurality of circuit boards are in contact;
A first heat dissipating channel disposed in a bellows shape along the heat dissipating member of the liquid cooling chassis adjacent to the first heat absorbing member in communication with the first heat absorbing channel;
A first container containing a first refrigerant to be circulated through the first heat absorption channel and the first heat radiation channel;
A first pump for flowing the first refrigerant in the first container through the first heat absorption channel and the first heat dissipation channel;
A first blower that cools the first refrigerant flowing through the first heat radiation channel by applying wind to at least a part of the first heat radiation channel;
A second endothermic flow path disposed in a bellows shape along the second endothermic member of the liquid-cooled chassis in which the other end sides of the plurality of circuit boards are in contact with each other on the side opposite to the first endothermic member;
A second heat dissipating channel arranged in a bellows shape along the heat dissipating member in communication with the second heat absorbing channel;
A second container containing a second refrigerant to be circulated through the second heat absorption channel and the second heat radiation channel;
A second pump for flowing the second refrigerant in the second container through the second heat absorption channel and the second heat dissipation channel;
A second blower that cools the second refrigerant flowing through the second heat radiation channel by applying air to at least a part of the second heat radiation channel;
A liquid-cooled chassis with an integrated body.

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