JP2014183079A - Cooling system and cooling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling system and a cooling method for suppressing the power consumption of a fan from being spent wastefully.SOLUTION: The cooling system comprises a plurality of electronic devices, a fan for sending air to the plurality of electronic devices, and a fan control unit for controlling the flow rate of the fan. Each of the electronic devices includes an opening through which the wind from the fan passes and an opening ratio change unit for changing opening ratio of the opening on the basis of individual temperature information regarding the temperature of the electronic device concerned. The fan control unit controls the flow rate of the fan on the basis of general temperature information regarding the temperature of the whole of the plurality of electronic devices.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling system and a cooling method.

  A plurality of electronic devices may be cooled by a fan in some cases. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to such a technique.

JP-A-6-13777

  A plurality of electronic devices may vary in temperature depending on usage conditions or the like. In order to cool these electronic devices, it is conceivable to control the fan air volume with reference to the electronic device having the highest temperature. In this case, more wind than necessary is sent from the fan to the electronic device having a low temperature. Therefore, a part of the power consumption of the fan may be wasted without contributing to the cooling of the device.

  An object of this invention is to provide the cooling system and the cooling method which suppress the waste of the power consumption of a fan.

  A cooling system disclosed in the present specification includes a plurality of electronic devices, a fan that blows air to the plurality of electronic devices, and a fan control unit that controls an air volume of the fan, and each of the electronic devices includes the fan. An opening rate changing unit that changes an opening rate of the opening based on individual temperature information related to the temperature of the electronic device, and the fan control unit is configured to control the temperature of the plurality of electronic devices as a whole. The air volume of the fan is controlled based on the overall temperature information regarding the fan.

  The cooling method disclosed in the present specification changes an aperture ratio of an opening through which air from a fan passes in the electronic device based on individual temperature information regarding each temperature of the plurality of electronic devices, and the plurality of electronic devices The air volume of the fan is controlled based on the overall temperature information related to the overall temperature.

  It is possible to provide a cooling system and a cooling method that suppress waste of power consumption of a fan.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the electronic system of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the device. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when the temperature of the device is lowered. 4A is a graph of the PWM signal output from the connector, FIG. 4B is a graph showing the relationship between the DC voltage value and the aperture ratio controlled by the damper, and FIG. 4C is a graph showing the total value of the DC voltage value and the fan It is the graph which showed the relationship with the rotation speed. 5A and 5B are variations of the device. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a first modification of the aperture ratio changing unit. 7A to 7C are explanatory diagrams of a second modification of the aperture ratio changing unit. 8A to 8C are explanatory diagrams of a third modification of the aperture ratio changing unit.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the electronic system of this embodiment. An electronic system will be described as an example of a cooling system. The electronic system is, for example, a server. The electronic system includes a plurality of electronic devices (hereinafter referred to as devices) 10a to 10c fixed to a rack or the like, and a plurality of fans F that blow and cool the devices 10a to 10c. The devices 10a to 10c are arranged in the vertical direction, but are not limited to this. For example, the devices 10a to 10c may be arranged in the horizontal direction. Although the fan F is being fixed to the same rack with the apparatus 10a-10c, for example, it is not limited to this, What is necessary is just to be able to ventilate the whole apparatus 10a-10c. The direction of the wind flowing from the fan F to the devices 10a to 10c is arranged in parallel. There may be a plurality of fans F or a single fan F.

  The devices 10a to 10c include housings 11a to 11c, respectively. The housing 11a has an introduction port 13a formed on the fan F side and a discharge port 15a formed on the side opposite to the introduction port 13a. The same applies to the casings 11b and 11c. The devices 10a to 10c are provided with dampers 30a to 30c, respectively. The dampers 30a to 30c are provided at positions facing the fan F, but are not limited to these positions.

  The damper 30a is fixed to the inlet 13a side of the casing 11a described later. The damper 30a includes an upper plate 31a, a lower plate 32a, and a plurality of blades 33a supported between the upper plate 31a and the lower plate 32a. The direction of the blade 33a is changed by a motor 35a described later. Similarly, the dampers 30b and 30c include upper plates 31b and 31c, lower plates 32b and 32c, and blades 33b and 33c, respectively.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the devices 10a and 10b. In FIG. 2 and subsequent figures, the electronic system will be described as including two devices 10a and 10b. 2 and 3, the dampers 30a and 30b are schematically illustrated for easy understanding. A printed circuit board 21a, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 23a, a heat sink 25a, a connector 27a, and a converter 29a are accommodated in the housing 11a.

  The CPU 23a is mounted on the printed circuit board 21a, and the temperature changes according to the usage rate, in other words, the power consumption. The CPU 23a becomes higher as the power consumption is larger. The CPU 23a is an example of a heat generating component. The heat sink 25a is in contact with the upper surface of the CPU 23a to promote heat dissipation of the CPU 23a, and is fixed to the printed board 21a. The connector 27a is mounted on the printed board 21a. The circuit formed on the printed circuit board 21a generates a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal having a pulse width corresponding to the power consumption of the CPU 23a, and the connector 27a converts the PWM signal into a converter. It outputs to 29a. The converter 29a converts the input PWM signal into a DC voltage and outputs it to the control circuit board 36a of the damper 30a. The converter 29a is an example of a conversion unit.

  The control circuit board 36a controls the rotation stop position of the motor 35a in accordance with the magnitude of the input DC voltage. Thereby, the angle of the blade | wing 33a, ie, the opening rate of the inlet 13a, is changed. That is, the opening ratio of the introduction port 13a is changed by the damper 30a according to the power consumption of the CPU 23a. Thereby, the air volume which passes the inside of the apparatus 10a is changed.

  Here, the power consumption of the CPU 23a and the temperature are correlated, and the power consumption of the CPU 23a is an example of individual temperature information related to the temperature of the device 10a. Accordingly, the higher the power consumption of the CPU 23a, the higher the temperature of the CPU 23a, and the higher the temperature inside the device 10a. The opening ratio of the introduction port 13a is changed by the damper 30a according to the temperature of the device 10a. The damper 30a is an example of an aperture ratio changing unit. Note that the amount of electricity required to drive the motor 35a may use the power from the connector 27a, or may separately secure the power, such as a battery or a commercial power source.

  Similarly, a printed circuit board 21b, a CPU 23b, a heat sink 25b, a connector 27b, and a converter 29b are accommodated in the housing 11b. Similarly, the damper 30b includes a motor 35b and a control circuit board 36b. That is, the amount of air passing through the devices 10a and 10b is controlled according to the power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b, respectively.

  The controller C is an example of a fan control unit that includes a CPU, a ROM (Read Only Memory), and a RAM (Random Access Memory), and controls the air flow rate of the fan F by controlling the rotation speed of the fan F. The controller C detects the DC voltage value output from each of the converters 29a and 29b. Since the DC voltage values output from the converters 29a and 29b correlate with the power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b, they correlate with the temperatures of the devices 10a and 10b. Therefore, the total value of the DC voltage values from the converters 29a and 29b is an example of the overall temperature information related to the temperatures of the devices 10a and 10b. The controller C calculates the target rotational speed of the fan F that can obtain the air volume necessary for cooling the entire devices 10a and 10b based on the sum of the DC voltage values output from the converters 29a and 29b. The fan F is controlled to rotate at this target rotational speed. The controller C increases / decreases the target rotational speed of the fan F in accordance with the increase / decrease of the total DC voltage value. The controller C may change the target rotational speed of the fan F based on the average value of the DC voltage values from the converters 29a and 29b as the overall temperature information.

  Note that the controller C may calculate the target rotational speed of the fan F based on the total value of the pulse width and duty ratio of the PWM signals output from the connectors 27a and 27b, respectively. In this case, the total value of the pulse widths or duty ratios of the PWM signals output from the connectors 27a and 27b is an example of the overall temperature information related to the temperature of the entire devices 10a and 10b.

  In FIG. 2, the power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b is the same, and the opening ratios of the inlets 13a and 13b changed by the dampers 30a and 30b are the same. In this case, let W1 be the amount of air passing through the devices 10a and 10b. Therefore, the total air volume from the fan F to the entire devices 10a and 10b is about 2W1.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when the temperature of the device 10b is lowered. The power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b varies depending on each load. For example, when the load on the CPU 23b is lower than the CPU 23a, the power consumption of the CPU 23b is lower than the CPU 23a, and the temperature is also lowered. In this way, the devices 10a and 10b vary in temperature according to the usage situation and the like.

  FIG. 4A is a graph of a PWM signal output from the connector 27b. A broken line indicates a signal before the power consumption of the CPU 23b is reduced, and a solid line indicates a signal after the power consumption of the CPU 23b is reduced. When the power consumption of the CPU 23b decreases, the pulse width of the PWM signal output from the connector 27b also decreases. Along with this, the value of the DC voltage converted by the converter 29b also decreases. In accordance with the magnitude of the DC voltage, the control circuit board 36b controls the rotation stop position of the motor 35b. That is, the damper 30b is controlled so that the opening ratio of the introduction port 13b is also increased or decreased according to the increase or decrease of the DC voltage. FIG. 4B is a graph showing the relationship between the DC voltage value and the aperture ratio controlled by the damper 30b.

  Further, as the power consumption of the CPU 23b decreases, the power consumption of the entire CPUs 23a and 23b also decreases. As a result, the total DC voltage value detected by the controller C also decreases. The controller C also decreases the rotational speed of the fan F in accordance with the decrease in the total DC voltage value. Therefore, the total air volume of the fan F to the whole apparatus 10a, 10b also falls. FIG. 4C is a graph showing the relationship between the total DC voltage value and the rotation speed of the fan F. In the example of FIG. 3, the passing air volume W2 passing through the device 10b is smaller than the passing air volume W1 passing through the device 10a. Less than.

  Thus, the total air volume from the fan F to the entire apparatus 10a, 10b is also reduced by the amount of air volume unnecessary for cooling the apparatus 10b. Thereby, waste of the power consumption of the fan F is prevented.

  In this manner, the dampers 30a and 30b ensure only the amount of passing air that needs to be individually cooled based on the information about the individual temperatures of the devices 10a and 10b. Furthermore, the air volume of the fan F is ensured by an amount necessary for cooling the entire devices 10a and 10b. Thereby, while ensuring the cooling of each of the devices 10a and 10b in which the temperature varies, the air volume of the fan F is controlled according to the temperature variation of the entire device, and waste of the power consumption of the fan F is prevented.

  For example, when only the power consumption of the CPU 23a further increases from the state shown in FIG. 2, the damper 30a is driven so that the opening ratio of the introduction port 13a is increased, and the rotational speed of the fan F is also increased. Thereby, the air volume which passes the inside of the apparatus 10a is ensured, and the coolability of the apparatus 10a is securable.

  The connector 27a is a connector for rotating a small fan conventionally mounted in such a device 10a. In this manner, the device 10a can be manufactured using the conventional device, and the damper 30a can be controlled without constructing a control system for newly controlling the damper 30a in the device 10a. Further, the damper 30a may be provided at the position of a miniaturized fan that has been conventionally incorporated in the device 10a. Thus, since the present apparatus 10a can be manufactured by diverting the conventional apparatus, the cost is reduced.

  Moreover, by using the large fan F, power consumption can be reduced compared to the case where a small fan is provided for each of the devices 10a to 10c.

  Note that the converter 29a is not necessarily provided in the housing 11a, and may be provided on the damper 30a side and outside the housing 11a, for example. Further, the converter 29a may be mounted on the control circuit board 36a of the damper 30a.

  When the power consumption of one of the CPUs 23a and 23b increases and the power consumption of the other decreases from the state shown in FIG. 2, the aperture ratio of the openings 13a and 13b is controlled according to the power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b. The However, the rotational speed of the fan F is controlled based on the temperature of the entire device 10a, 10b. Therefore, for example, when the temperature increase of one of the CPUs 23a and 23b is larger than the temperature decrease of the other, the rotational speed of the fan F increases, and when the temperature increase of one is smaller than the temperature decrease of the other, The rotational speed of F decreases. Further, when the power consumption of the CPUs 23a and 23b increases from the state shown in FIG. 2, the dampers 30a and 30b increase the opening ratios of the openings 13a and 13b, respectively, and the rotational speed of the fan F increases. When the power consumption of both the CPUs 23a and 23b is reduced from the state shown in FIG. 2, the dampers 30a and 30b reduce the opening ratios of the openings 13a and 13b, respectively, and the rotational speed of the fan F also decreases.

  5A and 5B are variations of the device. 5A and 5B are partially omitted. As shown in FIG. 5A, the opening ratio of the inlet 13a changed by the damper 30a may be controlled according to the detection value of the sensor S1 that directly detects the temperature of the CPU 23a. As shown in FIG. 5B, the opening ratio of the inlet 13a changed by the damper 30a may be controlled according to the detection value of the sensor S2 that detects the temperature in the housing 11a. Also in these cases, the damper 30a is controlled such that the smaller the detection values of the sensors S1 and S2, the smaller the opening ratio of the introduction port 13a. The detection values of the sensors S1 and S2 are examples of individual temperature information. Moreover, the air volume of the fan F that blows air to the entire device is controlled based on the sum of the detection values of the sensors S1 or S2 of the plurality of devices. The total value of the detection values of the sensor S1 or the total value of the detection values of the sensor S2 is an example of the entire temperature information. In this case, the connector 27a described above may not be provided.

  Next, a modification of the aperture ratio changing unit will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a first modification of the aperture ratio changing unit. In FIG. 6, the internal structures of the devices 10a to 10c are omitted. The damper 30a ′ includes a blade 33a ′ and a shaft 35a ′ that rotatably supports the blade 33a ′. The blades 33a 'and the shaft 35a' extend in the longitudinal direction of the introduction port 13a. The rotation stop position of the shaft 35a 'is also controlled by the motor. Similarly, the dampers 30b ′ and 30c ′ also include blades 33b ′, 33c ′, 35b ′, and 35c ′, respectively.

  7A to 7C are explanatory diagrams of a second modification of the aperture ratio changing unit. The slit 40 includes a fence-like movable plate 41 slidable in the longitudinal direction and a fixed fence-like fixed plate 43. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the movable plate 41 and the fixed plate 43 coincide and overlap each other, wind passes through the openings of the fence-like movable plate 41 and the fixed plate 43 into the device. As shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, when the movable plate 41 slides with respect to the fixed plate 43, the opening portions of the both become narrower and the aperture ratio of the device is changed.

  8A to 8C are explanatory diagrams of a third modification of the aperture ratio changing unit. The shutter 50 is provided with a plurality of blades at the periphery of the opening of the device, and the opening ratio of the device is changed by the rotation of the plurality of blades.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.・ Change is possible.

  In the above embodiment, the dampers 30 a and 30 a ′ are attached to the inlet 13 a on the side facing the fan F, but may be attached to the outlet 15 a side not facing the fan F.

10a to 10c Electronic device 11a to 11c Housing 13a, 13b Inlet (opening)
23a, 23b CPU (heat generating component)
27a, 27b connector (output part)
29a, 29b Converter (converter)
30a-30c damper (opening ratio changing part)
F Fan C Controller (Fan controller)

Claims (5)

Multiple electronic devices,
A fan for blowing air to the plurality of electronic devices;
A fan control unit for controlling the air volume of the fan,
Each of the electronic devices includes an opening through which the wind from the fan passes, an opening ratio changing unit that changes the opening ratio of the opening based on individual temperature information regarding the temperature of the electronic device,
The said fan control part is a cooling system which controls the air volume of the said fan based on the whole temperature information regarding the temperature of the said some electronic device whole. The aperture ratio changing unit decreases the aperture ratio as the temperature indicated by the individual temperature information of the electronic device is lower,
The cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the fan control unit decreases the rotation speed of the fan as the temperature indicated by the overall temperature information is lower.   The aperture ratio changing unit changes the aperture ratio based on at least one of power consumption of the heat generating component, temperature of the heat generating component of the electronic device, and temperature in the electronic device. Cooling system. Each of the electronic devices includes an output unit that outputs a signal having a pulse width corresponding to the temperature of a heat-generating component of the electronic device or the power consumption, and a conversion unit that converts the signal into a DC voltage.
The cooling system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the aperture ratio changing unit changes the aperture ratio corresponding to the magnitude of the DC voltage. Based on the individual temperature information regarding the temperature of each of the plurality of electronic devices, the aperture ratio of the opening through which the wind from the fan passes in the electronic device,
A cooling method for controlling the air volume of the fan based on overall temperature information relating to temperatures of the plurality of electronic devices.

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