JP2012146914A - End cap for apparatus housing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an end cap for an apparatus housing system which is easily installed in a short period of time without being subject to limitations such as dimensions of a rack used in the apparatus housing system and a building and enables easy recycling.SOLUTION: An end cap for an apparatus housing system 30 is used for an apparatus housing system including a passage 4 blowing cool air from a floor surface and a rack for housing an apparatus 3, which is installed with its front surface facing the passage, intakes air from the front surface, and exhausts air from an upper surface or a rear surface. The end cap for the apparatus housing system 30 inhibits the cool air from leaking to the exterior of the passage and includes a pair of pillar parts 40, a beam part 50 spanning the pillar parts, and a shielding part 60 attached to the beam part and inhibiting the cool air from leaking to the exterior of the passage. At least one of the pillar parts and the beam part has a dimension adjustment part for adjusting the length, and the shield part includes multiple shielding members 61 formed in strip like shapes and having flexibility.

Description

  The present invention relates to an end cap for a device housing system, and more particularly to an end cap used in a device housing system such as an air conditioning system for a computer room.

Conventionally, various air conditioning systems for adjusting the air flow and temperature in a certain space have been proposed.
Among these air conditioning systems, air conditioning for computer rooms that adjusts the air flow and temperature around the equipment in the computer room where IT equipment and communication devices that tend to be highly integrated and heat-generating are installed. The system is known.
As an air conditioning system for a computer room, a plurality of equipment storage racks arranged so as to face each other across a predetermined space (passage), and air placed in a predetermined space on the side of the equipment storage rack. Some are equipped with a harmony device.

  Under such a configuration, when the air conditioning apparatus discharges the cooling air, the cooling air is sent to a predetermined space and sucked into the equipment housing rack. The cooling air is warmed by cooling the equipment housed in the equipment housing rack, and then blown out of the equipment housing rack. The heated and blown air flows through the space above the computer room, is sucked into the air conditioner, is cooled again, and is discharged. In this way, the air flow and temperature in the computer room are controlled.

However, part of the air that has been warmed and blown out from the equipment housing rack may be directly returned to the predetermined space from the upper or passage space without being sent to the air conditioner. In that case, there is a possibility that a high temperature failure may occur due to the device sucking in warm air recirculated into the predetermined space. Moreover, in order to prevent this high temperature failure, the air conditioner may be forced to operate excessively, and the efficiency of the air conditioner may be reduced.
Therefore, it has been proposed that a shield such as a plate or a screen is hung on the upper side or both ends of the passage to prevent the flow of air from the upper side or the passage space to the predetermined space, thereby suppressing a decrease in cooling efficiency. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). Among these, the shields installed at both ends of the passage may be referred to as end caps.

Japanese Patent No. 3833515

  By the way, in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, as a shield used for the above-described end cap, a thing having rigidity such as a door or a relatively flexible thing such as a screen or a curtain can be used. In many cases, a long member serving as a beam is spanned between racks facing each other across the passage.

However, the end caps as described above are difficult to install if the left and right racks have different heights because the long members are inclined. Furthermore, if the width between racks is different, or the floor and ceiling heights of buildings where equipment storage systems such as computer room air conditioning systems are built are different, the passages may be overscreened or installed. It may be impossible. In order to cope with this, it is necessary to prepare end caps corresponding to the respective sizes. As a result, there is a problem that the cost is high and the installation takes time.
Further, when the device housing system is removed, there is a problem that a system to which the removed end cap is suitable cannot be easily found, and it is difficult to reuse in other places.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can be installed easily and in a short time without being restricted by the dimensions of racks and buildings used in the equipment housing system, and equipment that can be easily reused. An object is to provide an end cap for a containment system.

  The present invention is used in an equipment storage system including a passage for blowing cold air from a floor surface, and an equipment storage rack that is installed with a front surface facing the passage and that sucks air from the front surface and exhausts air from the upper surface or the back surface. An end cap for a device housing system that suppresses cold air from leaking out of the passage, the pair of column portions, a beam portion spanned between the column portions, and an outer cap attached to the beam portion. And at least one of the column part and the beam part has a dimension adjusting part for adjusting the length, and the shielding part is formed in a strip shape. And a plurality of shielding members having flexibility.

The shielding member may be formed of a resin having transparency.
Each of the pair of pillars further includes a plate-like grounding member attached to one end, and at least one side of the grounding member is collinear with one side of the pillar in plan view. It may be arranged.

  According to the end cap for a device storage system of the present invention, it can be installed easily and in a short time without being restricted by the dimensions of racks and buildings used in the device storage system, and can be easily reused.

It is a perspective view which shows the air conditioning system for computer rooms to which the end cap for apparatus accommodation systems of this invention was applied. It is a perspective view which shows the end cap for the apparatus accommodation system. It is the elements on larger scale of the pillar part of the end cap for the apparatus accommodation system. It is the elements on larger scale which show the beam part and shielding part of the end cap for the apparatus accommodation system. It is the example of application to the other apparatus accommodation system of the end cap for the apparatus accommodation system. It is the example of application to the other apparatus accommodation system of the end cap for the apparatus accommodation system.

Hereinafter, an end cap for a device housing system (hereinafter simply referred to as “end cap”) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.
First, an air conditioning system for a computer room (hereinafter simply referred to as “air conditioning system”), which is an example of a device housing system to which the end cap of the present invention is applied, will be briefly described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an air conditioning system 100 including an end cap 30 of the present embodiment. The air conditioning system 100 is used in a computer room 101 formed in a box shape.

  The computer room 101 includes a double floor 2 having an internal space 5 under the floor. The double floor 2 is formed with a passage 4 extending in one direction. A rectangular long hole 8 penetrating into the internal space 5 is formed on the upper surface of the double floor 2 serving as the passage 4. A rectangular plate-shaped perforated panel 7 is fitted in the long hole 8. The perforated panel 7 has a plurality of holes penetrating in the thickness direction. Thereby, the internal space 5 under the floor and the space of the passage 4 communicate with each other through the plurality of holes of the perforated panel 7.

  The air conditioning system 100 includes a device housing rack (hereinafter simply referred to as a “rack”) 3 disposed opposite to each other with a passage 4 interposed therebetween, an air conditioner 6, and a regulating unit for regulating the air flow described later. 10.

  The rack 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape and accommodates various devices such as a communication device. A plurality of these racks 3 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the passage 4 on both sides in the width direction of the passage 4. The rack 3 takes in the air in the space of the passage 4 from an air inlet (not shown) formed in opposing surfaces (front surface 3b) facing each other. The taken-in air is discharged upward or rearward from the upper surface 3a or the rear outlet.

  The air conditioner 6 is formed in a box shape. The air conditioner 6 is arranged on the side of the rack 3 and on one end (right side in FIG. 1) in the longitudinal direction of the passage 4. The air conditioner 6 blows out cold air (cooling air) A1 from an outlet (not shown) on the lower surface. Further, air flowing in the upper space of the computer room 101 is sucked from the suction port on the upper surface 6a, cooled, and then blown out from the blower port again.

The restricting portion 10 includes a pair of end caps 30 that shield both ends of the passage 4 in the longitudinal direction.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the end cap 30. The end cap 30 is configured to prevent the cold air blown into the passage 4 from leaking out of the passage by shielding both ends of the passage 4 so that the user can pass through. The end cap 30 includes a pair of column portions 40, a beam portion 50 spanned between the column portions 40, and a shielding portion 60 attached to the beam portion 50.

Each of the pair of column portions 40 includes a first column member 41, a second column member 42 connected to the first column member 41, and a reinforcing member 44.
The first column member 41 and the second column member 42 are formed of a metal such as iron or aluminum, and have rigidity sufficient to support the weight of the beam portion 50 and the shielding portion 60. As long as it has the said rigidity, you may form with other materials, such as wood and resin.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second column member 42 is provided with a plurality of adjustment holes 42 </ b> A at intervals along the longitudinal direction, and the first column member 41 is identical to the adjustment hole 42 </ b> A (substantially). An engagement hole 41A having a size (including the same) is provided. Therefore, by fixing the engagement hole 41A and the desired adjustment hole 42A coaxially using the bolt 45A and the nut 45B, the height of the column portion 40 can be adjusted in multiple stages. That is, the adjustment hole 42 </ b> A and the engagement hole 41 </ b> A constitute a dimension adjustment unit 46 that adjusts the length of the column part 40. The number and formation interval of the adjustment holes 42A may be appropriately determined according to the adjustment width desired to be set.

A plate-like ground member 43 is attached to the lower end portion (one end portion) of the second column member 42. As shown in FIG. 2, the grounding member 43 is made of metal or the like and has a rectangular shape in plan view, and is attached to the lower end of the second column member 42 by welding or the like. The contact area between the pillar portion 40 and the floor surface F is increased by the grounding member 43, but at least one of the four sides of the rectangular grounding member 43 in the plan view as viewed from above is the pillar portion 40. It is arranged in the same straight line as one side. In the present embodiment, of the four sides of the grounding member 43, the orthogonal sides 43 </ b> A and 43 </ b> B are located on the same straight line as the peripheral edge of the lower end of the second column member 42.
The grounding member 43 is fixed to the floor surface F by fixing means such as a bolt (not shown).

The reinforcing member 44 is formed of metal or the like, and has a fixed portion 44A at one end and a grounding portion 44B at the other end. The reinforcing member 44 is attached so as to form an angle with respect to the first column member 41 and the second column member 42 connected together by fixing the fixing portion 44A to the second column member 42 with a bolt or the like. On the other hand, the grounding portion 44B is fixed to the floor surface F with bolts or the like. By the reinforcing member 44, the column portion 40 is more stably held against a force acting in the horizontal direction, and falling or the like is prevented.
The reinforcing member 44 may be fixed to either the first column member 41 or the second column member 42. Further, it may be fixed so as not to be detachable by welding or the like, but it is preferable to make it detachable with a bolt or the like because it is easy to carry before installation or during reuse.

The beam portion 50 includes a first beam member 51 and a second beam member 52 that are connected together. Similar to the first column member 41 and the second column member 42 described above, the first beam member 51 and the second beam member 52 are formed with an engagement hole 51A and a plurality of adjustment holes 52A. Is provided. Thereby, the length of the beam part 50 which prescribes | regulates the width dimension of the end cap 30 can be adjusted in multiple steps. The beam portion 50 is stretched between the column portions 40 by being fixed to the upper ends of the pair of column portions 40 with bolts or the like.
In the first beam member 51 and the second beam member 52, attachment holes 53 for attaching a shielding member to be described later are formed at equal intervals on a surface different from the surface on which the engagement hole 51A and the adjustment hole 52A are formed. ing.

  The shielding unit 60 includes a plurality of shielding members 61. The shielding member 61 is a strip-shaped member, and has a long side 61A and a short side 61B as shown in FIG. The shielding member 61 can be shielded so that the cold air blown out to the passage 4 does not leak from both ends of the passage 4 and is flexible as long as it has flexibility, but if it has transparency, The state in the passage can be visually confirmed. In the present embodiment, the shielding member 61 is made of a resin material having transparency and flexibility. Examples of such a material include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVA), and the like.

The shielding member 61 is fixed to the beam portion 50 in a state where the long sides 61A are arranged in the left-right direction with the long side 61A in the up-down direction. In each shielding member 61, the length of the short side 61 </ b> B is set longer than the distance between adjacent mounting holes 53 provided in the beam portion 50. At least one end portion of each shielding member 61 in the short side 61B direction overlaps with the adjacent shielding member, and the overlapped portion is fixed to the mounting hole 53 of the beam portion 50 by a fixing means 62 such as a screw.
The length of the long side 61 </ b> A of the shielding member 61 is set to a length that contacts the floor surface F when attached to the installed beam portion 50. If the length of the long side 61A is made slightly longer (for example, around 10 centimeters) than the length necessary for contacting the floor surface F, the shielding member can be removed from the floor surface even when the user enters and exits the passage 4. It is preferable because the air does not leave and the cold air is less likely to leak.

  The operation at the time of installing the end cap 30 configured as described above will be described. Before installation, the first column member 41 and the second column member 42 constituting the column portion 40, the first beam member 51 and the second beam member 52 constituting the beam portion 50, the plurality of shielding members 61 or the shielding members, and The raw material or the like in which the material to be wound is rolled, and the fixing means such as bolts are transported to the installation site in an unassembled state. Since many of these are elongated members, it is relatively difficult to take up a place and can be smoothly conveyed and carried.

When arriving at the installation site of the computer room 101 or the like, the height of the rack 3 and the width of the passage on both sides of the passage 4 are measured, and the height of the column portion 40, the length of the beam portion 50, and the shielding member 61 are measured. The length of the long side 61A and the number of attached sheets are determined. Instead of the measurement at the installation site, these quantities may be determined in advance based on the design drawing of the computer room 101 or the like.
When the left and right racks have different heights, it is preferable to determine the height of the column portion 40 in accordance with the higher rack.

  After determining the dimensions and the like of each part, the user connects the first column member 41 and the second column member 42 based on the dimensions to form a part of the column part, and the first beam member 51 and the second beam member 52 is connected to form a beam portion 50. The shielding member 61 may be selected from a plurality of types of shielding members based on the dimensions, or may be prepared by cutting out from the original fabric.

Next, two members connecting the first column member 41 and the second column member 42 are erected, and the beam portion 50 is stretched between them to be fixed. The frame of the end cap 30 is completed through the operations so far.
After the completion of the frame, the user causes the side 43 </ b> A arranged on the same straight line as one side of the column part 40 in plan view to be close to the rack 3 among the four sides of the grounding member 43 attached to the second column member 42. The frame is positioned, and the grounding member 43 is fixed to the floor surface F with bolts or the like. Further, the reinforcing member 44 is fixed to the second column member 42 and the floor surface F.

Finally, the end cap 30 is completed when a predetermined number of the shielding members 61 are fixed to the attachment holes 53 of the beam portion 50 so that the ends in the direction of the short side 61B overlap.
In addition, each operation | movement at the time of the installation mentioned above may be suitably mixed before and after the range which does not interfere with work.

The shielding part 60 is arrange | positioned at the both ends of the channel | path 4 by the end cap 30 after installation. As shown in FIG. 1, the cool air A1 blown from the floor surface of the passage 4 is taken into the rack 3 without being mixed with the cooled warm air A2 discharged from the rack 3, so that the equipment in the rack 3 can be efficiently used. To be cooled. The warm air A2 after cooling is taken into the air conditioner 6 through the outside of the isolated passage 4 and cooled.
When performing maintenance on the rack 3 and internal equipment in the passage 4, the shielding member 61 of the shielding portion 60 can be deformed to easily enter and exit the passage 4 from between the shielding members.

  When the end cap 30 is removed, if the end cap 30 is removed and disassembled in the reverse order to that described above, the state returns to the state before installation, and transportation becomes easy. Further, since the dimensions can be adjusted within a certain range, it can be easily reused at another installation site. In addition, the shielding member 61 can be used as it is or can be reused by cutting it appropriately if it is long in view of another installation site, but it is disposable if it is short at another installation site and cannot sufficiently shield the passage. Also good.

  According to the end cap 30 of the present embodiment, since the pair of column portions 40 and the beam portion 50 spanned between the column portions 40 are provided, there is no problem even if the rack heights on both sides of the passage are different. Can be installed. Further, since it is not directly fixed to the rack, it is not necessary to obtain permission for fixing when the owner of the rack is different, and installation can be easily performed including the procedural aspect.

Moreover, since the shielding part 60 is formed of a plurality of flexible shielding members 61, it is possible to achieve both the ease of entering and exiting the passage 4 and the shielding effect at a high level.
In the present embodiment, since the shielding member 61 is formed of a resin material having transparency, it has already been described that the inside of the passage 4 is easily visible. In addition, since the shielding member formed of such a resin material is attached to be overlapped at the end portion in the short side 61B direction, the overlapped portions are appropriately attached and the adjacent shielding members are in close contact with each other. Thereby, it is suppressed suitably that cold air leaks from between the shielding members.

  Furthermore, since the dimension adjustment part is formed in the pillar part 40 and the beam part 50, the dimension of the pillar part 40 and the beam part 40 can be adjusted in multiple steps, and various rack heights and passage width apparatuses are available. Adjustments for adapting to the containment system can be done simply at the installation site.

  Furthermore, since the grounding member 43 is attached so that at least one side is arranged on the same straight line as one side of the column part 40 in a plan view, the column part can be provided by placing the one side close to the rack. The end cap 30 can be installed by bringing 40 close to the rack 3 with almost no gap. Thereby, the leakage of cold air can be more suitably suppressed.

  In addition, since the end cap 30 can be installed only by a simple operation such as bolting, the end cap 30 can be easily installed in a short time and at a low cost.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
In the air conditioning system shown in FIG. 5, the number of racks 3 arranged on the left and right of the passage 4 is different. When the end cap of the present invention is applied to such an air conditioning system, as shown in FIG. 5, in addition to a pair of column portions 40, a column portion 40 </ b> A having the same structure is added, and one column portion 40 and a column are added. By spanning the beam portion 55 having a length suitable for the gap between the portion 40A and attaching the shielding member 63, the gap caused by the difference in the number of racks can be suitably shielded. In this case, since the place where the shielding member 63 is formed is not normally used for entering and exiting the passage 4, the shielding member 63 may be an acrylic plate that does not have flexibility, a metal plate that does not have transparency, or the like. May be used.

  Further, when the rack can be fixed, as shown in FIG. 6, the heights of the left and right racks 3 of the passage 4 are different by using the column portions 40B and 40C having different heights on the left and right sides of the passage. However, the beam part 50 can be spanned horizontally. Such installation is useful when there is not enough space at both ends of the passage 4.

  Further, the end cap of the present invention can be used without problems not only when shielding a passage between racks but also when shielding a passage between a rack and a wall. At this time, as a part of the beam portion, a member having a grounding member attached like the second column member is used, and the grounding member is fixed to the wall surface with a bolt or the like, so that one column portion and the beam portion are A frame may be formed.

  Moreover, in the end cap of this invention, the dimension adjustment part should just be provided in at least one of a pillar part and a beam part. In this way, the adjustable dimension range is narrowed, but a certain effect can be obtained.

Furthermore, the end cap of the present invention can also be suitably used when shielding a portion other than both ends of the passage. For example, in a rack row arranged in the longitudinal direction of the passage, it can also be used when shielding a space formed between racks by missing one or a plurality of racks. If the end cap of this invention is used in such a case, even if the height of the rack arrange | positioned at the both sides of the said space differs, it can install suitably and can prevent the leakage of cold air.
In addition, when there is a rack row only on one side in the width direction of the passage, the opposite side in the width direction may be shielded only by the end cap of the present invention to construct a passage in which cold air does not leak.

3 Equipment storage rack 4 Passage 30 Equipment storage system end cap 40, 40A, 40B, 40C Column 43 Grounding member 46 Size adjustment part 50, 55 Beam part 60 Shielding part 61 Shielding member 100 Air conditioning system for computer (equipment accommodation) system)

Claims (3)

Used in an equipment housing system comprising: a passage for blowing out cold air from a floor; and a equipment housing rack that is installed with a front surface facing the passage and that sucks air from the front surface and exhausts air from an upper surface or a rear surface. An end cap for a device housing system that suppresses the leakage of cold air
A pair of pillars;
A beam portion spanned between the pillar portions;
A shielding part that is attached to the beam part and prevents the cold air from leaking outside the passage;
With
At least one of the column part and the beam part has a dimension adjusting part for adjusting the length,
The said shielding part is formed in strip shape, and is comprised including the some shielding member which has flexibility, The end cap for apparatus accommodation systems characterized by the above-mentioned.   The end cap for a device housing system according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is made of a resin having transparency. Each of the pair of pillars further includes a plate-like grounding member attached to one end,
3. The end cap for a device housing system according to claim 1, wherein at least one side of the grounding member is arranged in a straight line with one side of the column portion in plan view.

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