JP3820176B2 - Individual distributed cooling system for computers using thermoelectric elements - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication machine room, an electric room, a computer building and a data center having a double floor structure (free access floor) having an underfloor air passage inside, a computer, a server, etc. (hereinafter referred to as a computer). The present invention relates to a cooling device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a communication machine room, an electrical room, a computer building, a data center, and the like in which a large number of computers are arranged, it is necessary to cool a computer in a room that generates heat in order to normally operate the computer continuously. In general, in communication equipment rooms, etc., a double floor free access floor is often used for laying cables, and this floor access air conditioner uses the space under the free access floor as a cold air supply channel. Often, the computer is cooled.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since such a conventional floor blowing air conditioner has many mechanical motion parts, the failure rate of the air conditioner itself inevitably increases. Therefore, when the computer is cooled on a daily basis, it is necessary to maintain the air conditioner and to secure a spare floor blowing air conditioner in order to increase the reliability, resulting in an increase in cost.
[0004]
Further, the capacity of the floor blowing air conditioner is determined in consideration of the pressure loss of cold air and the loss due to temperature rise from the floor blowing air conditioner to the computer. For this reason, when considering such a loss, a floor blowing air conditioner having an excessive capacity has to be introduced, and there is room for improvement in this respect as well.
[0005]
Furthermore, when the floor blowing air conditioner is operated at night, vibration and noise problems may occur.
[0006]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, remarkably reduce the pressure loss of the cold air and the loss of temperature rise generated in the path from the air conditioner to the computer located far away, and cooling. The object is to simplify the configuration of the device itself.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is an individual distributed cooling device for a computer installed on a double floor structure 1 having an underfloor air passage 1a therein, and an exhaust gas communicating with the underfloor air passage 1a. A cooling device main body 2 in which a ventilation passage 2a is formed is erected on the double floor structure 1 at a predetermined interval from the computer 3, and an upper portion between the cooling device main body 2 and the computer 3 A blower opening 4 is opened in the floor 1b, and a plate-like thermoelectric cooling element 5 having a cooling surface 5a as a surface facing the computer is provided on the wall surface of the blower cooling apparatus body 2 facing the computer 3. It is characterized by being.
[0008]
Here, in this invention, you may provide the ventilation fan 7 in the ventilation port 4 opened between the cooling device main body 2 and the computer 3, and the ventilation fan 6 is provided in the exhaust ventilation path 2a of the cooling device main body 2. FIG. It may be provided.
[0009]
Furthermore, in the present invention, the exhaust duct 8 may be connected to the exhaust port of the exhaust ventilation path 2 a formed inside the cooling device body 2, and a double layer is provided below the cooling device body 2. You may make it provide the baffle plate 9 which protrudes in the underfloor ventilation path 1a of the floor structure 1. FIG.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
[0011]
The apparatus of the first embodiment is erected on a double floor structure 1 (free access floor) having an underfloor air passage 1a inside, a cooling device main body 2 provided with a thermoelectric cooling element 5, a cooling device An exhaust fan 6 provided in the exhaust ventilation path 2a of the apparatus main body 2 and a blower fan 7 provided outside the cooling apparatus main body are configured.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling device main body 2 is formed in a shape in which a cylindrical body having a rectangular cross section stands upright perpendicular to the floor surface. Inside the cooling device main body 2, an exhaust ventilation passage 2 a having a rectangular shape whose cross-sectional shape is slightly smaller than the cross-section of the cooling device main body is formed so as to pass vertically above and below the cooling device main body 2. Yes. An exhaust fan 6 for blowing air toward the upper opening of the cooling device main body 2 is provided in the exhaust ventilation path 2a. A flat thermoelectric cooling element 5 is built in at least one surface of the partition wall surrounding the exhaust ventilation path 2a of the cooling device body 2.
[0013]
Here, the flat thermoelectric cooling element 5 used in the apparatus of the present invention uses a junction pair (Peltier module) in which one ends of a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor are joined. This thermoelectric cooling element 5 has the property of using the Peltier effect to cool one surface by flowing a direct current and to heat the other surface (the back surface of one surface). In the apparatus of the present invention, the cooling surface 5a is formed outside the cooling device main body 2, and the exhaust heat surface 5b is formed on the exhaust ventilation path 2a side which is the back surface of the cooling surface 5a. The temperature of the thermoelectric cooling element 5 can be easily adjusted by changing the magnitude of the voltage / current.
[0014]
A blower fan 7 projects vertically from the cooling device body 2 at the lower edge of the cooling surface 5 a located outside the cooling device body 2. The blower fan 7 is provided to blow air from the blower opening 4 opened in the free access floor 1 between the computer 3 to be cooled and the cooling surface 5 a outside the cooling device main body 2. Note that the mounting position of the blower fan 7 is not limited to the lower edge portion of the cooling surface 5a, but may be provided perpendicularly to the middle portion of the cooling surface 5a [not shown].
[0015]
A computer 3 to be cooled is installed on the upper floor 1b of the free access floor 1 on which the apparatus of the present invention is installed, and an opening corresponding to the area of the cooling device main body 2 and the air blowing port 4 is located on the upper floor next to the computer 3. 1b. In order to provide the air blowing port 4 between the cooling device main body 2 and the computer 3, the cooling device main body 2 is fitted and arranged in the opening of the upper floor 1 b at a certain distance from the computer 3. The cooling device main body 2 is erected in a state where a cooling surface 5 a formed on the outside faces the computer 3 with the air blowing port 4 interposed therebetween.
[0016]
The apparatus of the first embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below. In the first embodiment, among the air passing through the underfloor ventilation path 1a, the air blown out from the blower opening 4 onto the free access floor 1 is cooled by the thermoelectric cooling element 5 on the cooling device body 2 side and generates heat. The heat is taken away from the air and then exhausted to the outside through a ventilation port (not shown).
[0017]
On the other hand, of the air passing through the underfloor ventilation path 1a, the air flowing into the exhaust ventilation path 2a of the cooling device body 2 communicating with the underfloor ventilation path 1a is exhausted from the thermoelectric cooling element 5 facing the exhaust ventilation path 2a. Heat is taken from the hot surface 5b and is released into the room from the upper opening of the cooling device body 2 (the exhaust port of the exhaust ventilation path 2a). Then, the air is exhausted through a ventilation port (not shown).
[0018]
That is, the present invention is a so-called individual dispersion type cooling device in which the cooling device main body 2 is installed in the vicinity of the computer 3 to be cooled. Therefore, in the conventional floor blow-out air conditioner, a pressure loss of cold air and a loss of temperature increase occur in the path to the computer at a distance, but such a loss is remarkably reduced in the apparatus of the present invention. In addition, compared to conventional floor blower air conditioners and the like, the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention has few mechanical movement parts and is simple, so there is less vibration and noise, and maintenance is easy and reliability is high.
[0019]
3 and 4 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Although the second embodiment is common to the first embodiment in that air is exhausted from the underfloor ventilation path 1 a to the exhaust ventilation path 2 in the cooling device body 2 to exhaust heat from the thermoelectric cooling element 2, It differs from 1st Embodiment by the point which is the structure which ventilates in the underfloor ventilation path 1a. Note that in the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.
[0020]
In the second embodiment, an exhaust duct 8 connected to the outside is connected to the upper opening of the cooling device main body 2. In the second embodiment, two rectifying plates 9 substantially equal to the width of the cooling device main body 2 are provided on the lower side of the cooling device main body 2 so as to project into the underfloor ventilation path 1a. The two rectifying plates 9 have an inverted V-shape that extends downward toward the lower opening (intake port of the exhaust ventilation passage) and the blower port side along the partition wall facing the blower port 4 of the cooling device body 2. It is attached as follows.
[0021]
The apparatus of 2nd Embodiment is comprised as mentioned above, and demonstrates the effect | action below. In the second embodiment, the air passing through the underfloor ventilation path 1a is guided by the rectifying plate 9 whose lower end is inclined toward the lower opening, and flows into the exhaust ventilation path 2a communicating with the underfloor ventilation path 1a. The air flowing into the exhaust ventilation path 2a takes heat from the exhaust heat surface 5b of the thermoelectric cooling element 5 and is exhausted from the exhaust duct 8 connected to the outdoor.
[0022]
On the other hand, room air flows into the underfloor ventilation path 1a from the blower opening 4 opened to the upper floor 1b by the blower fan 7. At this time, the indoor air that passes between the computer 3 and the cooling device main body 2 is cooled by the thermoelectric cooling element 5 on the cooling device main body 2 side, and cools by taking heat from the computer 3 that generates heat. In addition, the air flowing into the underfloor ventilation path 1a from the blower opening 4 is guided by the rectifying plate 9 whose lower end is inclined toward the blower opening side, and does not flow into the exhaust ventilation path 2a.
[0023]
The apparatus of the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment. However, the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, a plurality of computers may be cooled for one apparatus of the present invention by incorporating thermoelectric cooling elements on two or more surfaces of the partition wall surrounding the exhaust ventilation path of the cooling apparatus body. Moreover, it is good also as a structure which installs a fan in the entrance of an underfloor ventilation path, etc., and does not provide a fan separately in a cooling device main body.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
In the present invention, since the cooling device main body is installed in the vicinity of the computer to be cooled, the pressure loss and the temperature rise loss of the cold air in the underfloor air passage generated by the conventional floor blowing air conditioner are remarkably reduced. Therefore, costs such as power required for cooling the computer can be reduced.
[0025]
In addition, since the present invention cools a computer using a thermoelectric cooling element, it has fewer mechanical moving parts than a conventional floor blow-out air conditioner or the like, and has a simple configuration. Therefore, there is little vibration and noise during operation, and maintenance of the apparatus is easy and reliability is high.
[0026]
Furthermore, the thermoelectric cooling element used in the present invention has good temperature responsiveness because the temperature can be easily adjusted by changing the amount of voltage and current. Furthermore, since no chlorofluorocarbon gas is used as a catalyst, there is no load on the global environment due to chlorofluorocarbon gas leakage.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.
2A is a perspective view of a cooling device main body according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a plan view of FIG.
3A is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3B is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a cooling device main body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Double floor structure (free access floor)
1a Underfloor ventilation path 1b Upper floor 1c Slab floor 2 Cooling device body 2a Exhaust ventilation path 3 Computer 4 Blower 5 Thermoelectric cooling element 5a Cooling surface 5b Heat exhaust surface 6 Exhaust fan 7 Blower fan 8 Exhaust duct 9 Rectification plate

Claims (5)

An individual distributed cooling device for a computer standing on a double floor structure having an underfloor air passage inside, wherein the cooling device body in which an exhaust air passage communicating with the underfloor air passage is formed, The blower cooling apparatus which is erected on the double floor structure with a certain distance from the computer, and has a blower opening in an upper floor between the cooling apparatus main body and the computer, and which faces the computer An individual distributed cooling device for a computer using a thermoelectric element, wherein a wall surface of the main body is provided with a flat thermoelectric cooling element having a cooling surface as a surface facing the computer. The individual distributed cooling device for a computer using a thermoelectric element according to claim 1, wherein a blower fan is provided at a blower opening opened between the cooling device main body and the computer. The individual distributed cooling device for a computer using a thermoelectric element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a blower fan is provided in an exhaust ventilation path formed inside the cooling device main body. 4. A computer using a thermoelectric element according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust duct is connected to an exhaust port of an exhaust ventilation path formed inside the cooling device main body. Individually distributed cooling system. The computer using the thermoelectric element according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a rectifying plate projecting into the underfloor ventilation path having a double floor structure is provided below the cooling device main body. Individually distributed cooling system.

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