JP3253348U - Structural improvement of industrial computer cases - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved structure for an industrial computer case that can reduce mutual interference through heat dissipation when a main component and an expansion component simultaneously perform high-speed calculations, thereby allowing both components to maintain good calculation efficiency.
[Solution] The structural improvement of the industrial computer case according to the present invention comprises an industrial computer case 1 comprising a base plate 11, a back panel 12, a front panel 13, a set of side panels 14, a partition plate 15, and a cover plate 16. The partition plate is primarily used to divide the interior space of the case into two sections, allowing large main components and expansion components that require heat dissipation to be located separately, and allowing the construction of separate heat dissipation devices.
[Selected Figure] Figure 2

Description

This invention relates to structural improvements to industrial computer cases that divide the interior of the computer case into layers and create heat dissipation channels.

Traditional industrial computer cases mainly use 1U (rack unit, RU or U, case height 4.445 cm, as defined by the Electronic Industries Alliance) or 2U (height 8.89 cm) cases (hereinafter abbreviated as 1U or 2U cases). Financial institutions and the semiconductor industry are also pursuing smaller cases, and many are using 1U industrial computers to save space and costs.

However, the expandability of a 1U case is not as good as that of a 2U industrial computer case, making it extremely difficult to design the internal space of a 1U case. Therefore, a conventional solution has been to increase the number of expansion cards that can be installed by improving the internal space of the 1U industrial computer case. However, this method has extremely limited heat dissipation, which can easily affect computer performance.

In addition, with the development of technologies such as virtual currency mining and artificial intelligence (AI), there has been a significant increase in demand for expansion cards (e.g., graphics processing units (GPUs), network cards, network interface controllers (NICs)) to handle large amounts of data processing. Furthermore, because central processing units (CPUs), motherboards, expansion cards, and memory all need to be overclocked to perform calculations, there is a growing demand for heat dissipation. Therefore, when a 2U case is used for an industrial computer, the space is larger than in a 1U case, allowing for the addition of more components and expansion cards. However, the construction and layout of the 2U case does not make efficient use of the space, and considering the high-performance computing elements, it is necessary to add or strengthen the heat dissipation system to solve the turbulence and resonance problems caused by the high-performance computing elements.

A further improvement to conventional computer cases was to divide the case (known as a PC case) into a computational layer and a storage layer, maximizing the amount of storage media within a limited space. However, expansion cards (known as external interface cards) and the central processing unit were installed on the same layer, which did not effectively solve the heat dissipation problem.

The creators of this product therefore believed that the above drawbacks could be improved, and after extensive research, they came up with this proposal, which effectively improves the above issues through rational design.

This invention was developed through intensive research by the inventors in light of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an improved structure for industrial computer cases. That is, by reorganizing the internal space of the industrial computer case and adjusting the positions of the main components and expansion components, the limited heat dissipation effect of conventional industrial computer cases is improved, and good computing efficiency is effectively maintained.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an improved industrial computer case structure, in which at least one expansion card and a motherboard are separately arranged in the industrial computer case, and the industrial computer case includes:
The industrial computer case comprises a board, a front panel and a back panel that are disposed adjacent to the board and parallel to each other, a pair of side panels that are disposed adjacent to the board and parallel to each other, and a partition plate and a cover plate that are disposed parallel to the board, wherein the partition plate defines an internal space of the industrial computer case, and a main component storage space and an expansion component storage space are formed in the internal space;
a power supply and the motherboard are arranged in the main component accommodating space, the motherboard is arranged on the substrate in the main component accommodating space by combining a plurality of locking members and a plurality of fasteners, and the motherboard and the power supply are electrically connected;
At least one expansion card is arranged in the expansion element storage space, and the expansion card is arranged on the partition plate of the expansion element storage space by combining each of the locking members and each of the fasteners;
a first end of at least one cable is connected to the expansion slot of the motherboard, and the partition plate has at least one first opening; a second end of each of the cables passes through the first opening and is locked onto the partition plate of the expansion element receiving space by combining the locking members and the fasteners, thereby forming a connection between the second end and the expansion card;
At least one first heat dissipation device is configured in the main element storage space, and at least one second heat dissipation device is configured in the extended element storage space, and the first heat dissipation device and the second heat dissipation device are each electrically connected to the power supply.

This device primarily uses a partition to divide the internal space of the case into two layers, upper and lower, allowing the motherboard and expansion cards to have their own separate spaces and independent heat dissipation systems, preventing the heat dissipation effects of the upper and lower layers from interfering with each other and reducing interference caused by resonance.

At least the following points become clear from the description and drawings described below.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to the present invention; 1 is an exploded view showing the structural improvement of the industrial computer case according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to the present invention; 1 is a schematic diagram showing the interior of the improved industrial computer case according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the interior of the improved industrial computer case according to the present invention; FIG. 1 is a partial enlarged view (1) showing the structural improvement of the industrial computer case according to the present invention; 2 is a partial enlarged view (II) showing the structural improvement of the industrial computer case according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a second embodiment of the structural improvement for an industrial computer case according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram (3) illustrating an embodiment of the structural improvement for an industrial computer case according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram (III) illustrating the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic diagram (4) illustrating the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a schematic diagram (V) illustrating the structural improvement of an industrial computer case according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Please note that the present invention is in no way limited to the following embodiments, and various other forms are possible as long as they fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

First, a specific embodiment of the industrial computer case 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

The industrial computer case 1 of the present invention comprises a circuit board 11, a back panel 12 and a front panel 13 mounted parallel to each other on the circuit board 11, a pair of side panels 14 also mounted parallel to each other on the circuit board 11, and a partition plate 15 and a cover plate 16 mounted relative to the circuit board 11. The partition plate 15 is composed of a first partition plate 151 and a second partition plate 152 arranged relative to each other. The first partition plate 151 has at least one first opening 1513, and the second partition plate 152 has at least one fourth opening 1523. The back panel 12 has a plurality of second openings 121 and a plurality of first heat dissipation holes 122. The front panel 13 has a plurality of third openings 131 and a plurality of second heat dissipation holes 132, and the third opening 131 has a plurality of I/O ports. Preferably, there are two third openings 131 (universal serial bus, USB), and the outer surface of the side panel 14 has multiple sliding structures 141. The sliding structures 141 allow the device to be slidably installed in a cabinet rack, and the cover plate 16 has multiple third heat dissipation holes 161 on the surface adjacent to the back panel 12.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first partition plate 151 of the partition plate 15 has at least one first protrusion 1511 and at least one first connection portion 1512 on one side facing away from the back panel 12. The second partition plate 152 has at least one second protrusion 1521 and at least one second connection portion 1522 on one side facing away from the front panel 13. The first partition plate 151 and the second partition plate 152 are horizontally movable, and the first protrusion 1511 and the second protrusion 1521 can be joined laterally to the corresponding second connection portion 1522 and the first connection portion 1512, respectively. After joining is complete, the partition plate 15 is further screwed into the side panel 14 to strengthen the fixation.

As shown in Figure 4, the interior space of the industrial computer case 1 is divided into a main component storage space S1 and an expansion component storage space S2, with a partition plate 15 as the boundary. The height of the industrial computer case 1 is 2U, and the heights of the main component storage space S1 and the expansion component storage space S2 are both 1U.

As shown in FIG. 5, the main component storage space S1 is configured with at least one power supply 21, a motherboard 22, at least one cable 23, and at least one first heat dissipation device (26, 26a, etc.). The power supply 21 is electrically connected to the motherboard 22, which is attached to the substrate 11 of the main component storage space S1 by combining a plurality of locking members and a plurality of fasteners. One end of the cable 23 is connected to the motherboard 22, and the first heat dissipation device 26 is installed on the substrate 11. As shown in FIG. 6, the first opening 1513 of the partition plate 15 allows the cable 23 to be introduced from the main component storage space S1 into the expansion component storage space S2. At least one expansion card 25 is installed on the first partition plate 151 of the partition plate 15, and at least one second heat dissipation device 27 is installed on the second partition plate 152. The first heat dissipation device (26, 26a) and the second heat dissipation device 27 may each be an air-cooled or water-cooled heat dissipation device. Preferably, the first heat dissipation device 26 is an air-cooled heat dissipation device that introduces external cool air into the interior, and the other first heat dissipation device 26a may be a water-cooled heat dissipation device for cooling the CPU (central processing unit) of the motherboard 22. The second heat dissipation device 27 is an air-cooled heat dissipation device, and a fourth opening 1523 opened at a corresponding position on the second partition plate 152 diverts the airflow from the second heat dissipation device 27. Preferably, the second heat dissipation device 27 is a turbofan (commonly known as a vortex fan). The second heat dissipation device 27 diverts the airflow from the main component housing space S1 through the fourth opening 1523 and directs it toward the expansion card 25 in the expansion component housing space S2 to dissipate heat.

As shown in FIG. 7, multiple power supplies 21 are arranged in parallel on the board 11 in the main component storage space S1, and the side adjacent to the back panel 12 has a pull ring 211 for convenient and quick installation and removal. Preferably, there are two power supplies 21 to provide different voltages or currents. A motherboard 22 is arranged on the board 11, adjacent to the other side panel 14, and has multiple expansion slots 221 for connecting the first end 231 of at least one cable 23. Preferably, there are four expansion slots 221 to allow for simultaneous connection of four cables (e.g., 23).

7 and 8, the back panel 12 has a plurality of second openings 121 for installing at least one expansion card (25, 25a, etc.) in the expansion element storage space S2. The expansion card 25 may be a GPU (graphics processing unit), and the other expansion card 25a may be a network interface card (NIC). The expansion card 25 has a slot port end 251 and a connection port end 252. The slot port end 251 may be a high-speed I/O slot, and the connection port end 252 can be configured in the second opening 121. Preferably, there are four second openings 121 to accommodate four 1-slot expansion cards (25, 25a, etc.), with two second openings 121 in each set, and the two sets are provided spaced apart on both sides of the surface of the back panel 12. The first partition plate 151 of the partition plate 15 has at least one first opening 1513 for passing the cable 23 therethrough and connecting the second end 232 to the slot port end 251 of the expansion card 25. The multiple fasteners (24, 24a, etc.) are located close to the back panel 12 and divided into two sets, one set of which is located on the partition plate 15 away from the motherboard 22 and close to the side panel 14, and the other set of which is located on the partition plate 15 close to the other side panel 14. Preferably, the expansion slot 221 of the motherboard 22, the first end 231 and second end 232 of the cable 23, and the slot port end 251 of the expansion card 25 all comply with the PCIe (peripheral component interconnect express) x16 standard. The length of the first opening 1513 of the first partition plate 151 of the partition plate 15 is longer than the length of the expansion slot 221 (the length of PCIe x16 is 89 mm). The fasteners (24, 24a, etc.) may be, for example, positioning pins, such as straight type, large-head type, press-fit type, female thread type, male thread type, or other different types of positioning pins, or combinations thereof. Preferably, the fasteners (24, 24a, etc.) include female thread type straight positioning pins, and are configured to be threaded within the height of the 1U case.

8 and 9 , the first end 231 of the cable 23 is connected in a first direction Y to one expansion slot 221 of the motherboard 22, the second end 232 is locked in a second direction X on a fastener (24, 24a, etc.) by a locking member 241, and the slot port end 251 of the expansion card 25 is connected in the second direction X to the second end 232 of the cable 23. The locking member 241 may be a screw, such as a machine screw, a tapping screw, a self-drilling screw, or any other type of screw. The first direction Y and the second direction X are mutually perpendicular, and the first direction Y and the second direction X are respectively horizontal and vertical. Preferably, the first direction Y is perpendicular to the motherboard 22, and the second direction X is parallel to the motherboard 22.

As shown in FIG. 10 , by installing the partition plate 15, a main component storage space S1 and an expansion component storage space S2 are formed in the industrial computer case 1, with the motherboard 22 and expansion card 25 respectively installed in different spaces. Cool air is introduced into the industrial computer case 1 through the second heat dissipation holes 132 by the first heat dissipation device 26, then diverted by the second heat dissipation device 27 and introduced into the expansion component storage space S2, forming a first convection channel F1 in the main component storage space S1 and a second convection channel F2 in the expansion component storage space S2. The cool air passes through the first convection channel F1 and the second convection channel F2 to absorb waste heat from the motherboard 22 and expansion card 25, respectively, before being discharged to the outside of the industrial computer case 1 through the first convection channel F1 of the first heat dissipation holes 122 on the lower layer and the second convection channel F2 of the first heat dissipation holes 122 and the third heat dissipation holes 161 on the upper layer. Supporting overclocking of the motherboard 22 and expansion card 25, the convection between the two spaces (S1, S2) does not interfere with each other, effectively preventing turbulence and maintaining good computing efficiency. By mounting the motherboard 22 and expansion card 25 on the circuit board 11 and partition plate 15, respectively, resonance and noise reduction are simultaneously achieved.

11 and 12, in this embodiment, an air-cooled heat dissipation device is used, and the partition plate 15 is composed of a first partition plate 151 and a third partition plate 153, which are mutually configured to form a bottom plate 1531, an inclined plate 1532, and a top plate 1533. The bottom plate 1531 is similar to the second partition plate (see FIG. 3) of the previous embodiment, and is configured with the bottom plate 1531 and the first partition plate 151, and has at least one third protrusion and at least one third connection portion that are joined to correspond to the first connection portion 1512 and the first protrusion 1511, respectively, and similarly has at least one opening for diverting the second heat dissipation device (see FIG. 14). The inclined plate 1532 is inclined upward toward the front panel 13, and its height from the board 11 is no higher than 2U. A large-area air-cooled heat dissipation device can be installed in the space formed by the top plate 1533 and board 11, achieving even more optimal heat dissipation effects.

As shown in FIG. 13, the primary component storage space S1 is equipped with a first heat dissipation device 26 and a third heat dissipation device 28, both of which are air-cooled. Preferably, the first heat dissipation device 26 is a 4 cm fan, and the third heat dissipation device 28 is an 8 cm fan. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 14, the inclined plate 1532 and top plate 1533 of the third partition plate 153 allow the third heat dissipation device 28 to be installed in a 2U space within the split-layer structure. Furthermore, the inclined plate 1532 presses the airflow generated by the third heat dissipation device 28 into the first heat dissipation device 26, achieving a turbine effect that compresses and accelerates the airflow. Similarly, the second heat dissipation device 27 diverts the airflow and introduces it into the extended component storage space S2, forming a first convection channel F1 in the primary component storage space S1 and a second convection channel F2 in the extended component storage space S2. The cool air absorbs waste heat from the motherboard 22 and expansion cards 25 via the first convection channel F1 and second convection channel F2, respectively, before being expelled outside the industrial computer case 1.

As shown in FIG. 15, in this embodiment, multiple data storage devices 29 can be installed between the first heat dissipation device 26 and the third heat dissipation device 28, and are installed on the substrate 11 by locking corresponding fasteners 24b with multiple locking members 241a. The data storage devices 29 may be one of SSDs (solid state disks), HDDs (hard disk drives), SRAMs (static random access memory), and DRAMs (dynamic random access memory). Preferably, the multiple data storage devices 29 are two M.2 SSDs and HDDs, and two M. The M.2 SSDs are installed on the board 11 by using two locking members 241a that correspond one-to-one with the two fasteners 24b, while the HDDs can be installed on the base 17. In this way, when converting a server originally equipped with a water-cooled heat sink into a management information system (MIS) server, the present invention allows the water-cooled heat sink to be removed without affecting the layout of existing components, allowing multiple M.2 SSDs and HDDs to be added in the existing space, thereby saving on the cost of replacing the server by reusing the server case. Furthermore, by simply replacing the partition kit, an 8cm cooling fan can be installed, which, together with the original 4cm cooling fan, creates a turbine-like heat dissipation effect and achieves the same flow-diverting effect.

As described above, this invention mainly involves arranging the internal space of the industrial computer case, installing partitions, and arranging large expansion cards and motherboards separately for heat dissipation, thereby solving the problem of turbulence occurring during heat dissipation in conventional 2U industrial computer cases and effectively maintaining good computing efficiency. As described above, by organizing the internal space of the industrial computer case and adjusting the positions of main components and expansion components, this invention can reliably provide an industrial computer case that addresses the problem of limited heat dissipation in conventional industrial computer cases and achieves the goal of effectively maintaining good computing efficiency.

The above describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design modifications and other changes that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included.

1 industrial computer case 11 circuit board 12 back panel 121 second opening 122 first heat dissipation hole 13 front panel 14 side panel 131 third opening 141 sliding structure 132 second heat dissipation hole 15 partition plate 16 cover plate 151 first partition plate 161 third heat dissipation hole 1511 first protrusion 1512 first connection portion 1513 first opening 152 second partition plate 1521 second protrusion 1522 second connection portion 1523 fourth opening 153 third partition plate 1531 bottom plate 1532 inclined plate 1533 top plate 17 base S1 main element storage space S2 expansion element storage space F1 first convection channel F2 second convection channel 21 power supply 22 motherboard 211 pull ring 221 expansion slot 23 cable 24 fastener 24a fastener 24b fastener 231 first end 241 locking member 241a locking member 232 second end 25 expansion card 25a expansion card 26 first heat dissipation device 26a first heat dissipation device 251 slot port end 252 connection port end 27 second heat dissipation device 28 third heat dissipation device 29 data storage device Y first direction X second direction

Claims (10)

A structural improvement of an industrial computer case, wherein at least one expansion card and a motherboard are separately arranged in the industrial computer case, and the industrial computer case comprises:
The industrial computer case comprises a board, a front panel and a back panel that are disposed adjacent to the board and parallel to each other, a pair of side panels that are disposed adjacent to the board and parallel to each other, and a partition plate and a cover plate that are disposed parallel to the board, wherein the partition plate defines an internal space of the industrial computer case, and a main component storage space and an expansion component storage space are formed in the internal space;
a power supply and the motherboard are arranged in the main component accommodating space, the motherboard is arranged on the substrate in the main component accommodating space by combining a plurality of locking members and a plurality of fasteners, and the motherboard and the power supply are electrically connected;
the at least one expansion card is arranged in the expansion element storage space, and the expansion card is arranged on the partition plate of the expansion element storage space by combining each of the locking members and each of the fasteners;
a first end of at least one cable is connected to the expansion slot of the motherboard, and the partition plate has at least one first opening; a second end of each of the cables passes through the first opening and is locked onto the partition plate of the expansion element receiving space by combining the locking members and the fasteners, thereby forming a connection between the second end and the expansion card;
A structural improvement to an industrial computer case, characterized in that at least one first heat dissipation device is configured in the main component storage space, and at least one second heat dissipation device is configured in the extended component storage space, and the first heat dissipation device and the second heat dissipation device are each electrically connected to the power supply. The structural improvement of the industrial computer case described in claim 1, characterized in that the partition plate is composed of a first partition plate and a second partition plate arranged relative to each other, the first partition plate having at least one first protrusion and at least one first connection portion on one side facing away from the back panel, and the second partition plate having at least one second protrusion and at least one second connection portion on one side facing away from the front panel, the first protrusion and the second protrusion being laterally movable and joined to the corresponding second connection portion and the corresponding first connection portion, respectively. A structural improvement to the industrial computer case described in claim 1, characterized in that the partition plate has at least one fourth opening for diverting the second heat dissipation device. A structural improvement to an industrial computer case as described in claim 1, wherein the first end of the cable is connected to the expansion slot of the motherboard in a first direction, and the second end is locked onto the partition plate in a second direction, and the first and second directions are perpendicular to each other. A structural improvement to the industrial computer case described in claim 1, characterized in that the height of the main component storage space and the expansion component storage space are each 1U. The structural improvement of an industrial computer case as described in claim 1, wherein the first heat dissipation device is an air-cooled heat dissipation device or a water-cooled heat dissipation device. The structural improvement of an industrial computer case as described in claim 1, wherein the second heat dissipation device is an air-cooled heat dissipation device or a water-cooled heat dissipation device. The structural improvement of the industrial computer case described in claim 1, characterized in that the partition plate is composed of a first partition plate and a third partition plate arranged together, the third partition plate being composed of a bottom plate, an inclined plate, and a top plate, the first partition plate having at least one first protrusion and at least one second connection portion on one side away from the back panel, and the bottom plate having at least one third protrusion and at least one third connection portion on one side away from the front panel, the first protrusion and the third protrusion being laterally movably joined to the corresponding third connection portion and the corresponding first connection portion, respectively. A structural improvement to the industrial computer case described in claim 8, characterized in that the inclined plate is inclined upward toward the front panel, and a third heat dissipation device can be installed between the top plate and the board. The structural improvement of an industrial computer case described in claim 9, wherein the first heat dissipation device and the third heat dissipation device are air-cooled heat dissipation devices.