JP4491451B2 - Rack cabinet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement of a rack cabinet for storing a housing of an electronic device in parallel in the vertical direction.

  A rack cabinet for storing the casing of the electronic device in parallel in the vertical direction is already known.

  This type of rack cabinet is usually designed on the premise of housing an electronic device housing that incorporates an air cooling device that takes outside air from the front and discharges it to the rear side. This panel is composed of a plain sheet metal, and a punch panel having a small-diameter drilling process is used on the back side.

  The front of the rack cabinet is usually open all over, and the upper and lower sides of the rack cabinet are used by using tap holes, angles, rails, etc. provided inside the front frame of the cabinet body or inside the left and right panels. In parallel with the direction, the housing of the electronic device, for example, various computers, servers, disk array devices, and the like are accommodated.

  The EIA standard occupies the mainstream as the dimensions of the casing of the electronic device. When designing the casing, the thickness is 1U, that is, 44.45 mm as a standard, and except for special ones, it is an integer multiple of 44.45 mm. The value of is the thickness of the housing. And the universal frame of 15.875 mm, 15.875 mm, 12.7 mm,... Is housed in the frame part on the front side of the rack cabinet or the inside of the left and right panels in order to house and fix the housing of these dimensions. Many tap holes, angles, rails, and the like are provided in the vertical direction at a pitch or a wide pitch of 31.75 mm, 12.7 mm,... To cope with attachment of housings of various thicknesses.

  According to the JIS standard, the thickness of 50 mm, that is, 1 J is the standard for the thickness of the housing. Depending on this, there is a difference that 25 mm or 50 mm is the mounting interval, but the overall design concept is as above. It is the same.

  However, the interior of a rack cabinet designed for storing a large number of chassis is not always filled with the chassis. Even if the required number of chassis is stored, There may be a gap.

  As described above, the housing of an electronic device usually incorporates an air cooling device that takes outside air from the front and discharges it to the back, but there is a gap between the top and bottom of the housing that is aligned in the vertical direction. When this occurs, the warm air released to the rear side of the chassis passes through the upper and lower gaps on the front of the rack cabinet and moves forward to the front of the chassis, and this warm air is again sucked from the front of the chassis and the electronic device in the chassis There is a possibility that the cooling efficiency will deteriorate.

  Conventionally, this type of problem has been dealt with by closing the gap between the cases with a dummy panel or the like, but in practice, it is often the case that the user forgets to install a dummy panel or the like, which is sufficient for the user. If there is no knowledge, there is also a problem that the dummy panel or the like is not conceivable.

  Therefore, in order to eliminate these inconveniences, a plate-like spring is attached to the front and back, and a wind leakage prevention plate pivotally supported by the rocker is disposed in the gap between the casings. When the housing is removed, the wind leakage prevention plate is automatically swung by the urging force of the spring supported by the other housing adjacent to the wind leakage prevention plate. Patent Document 1 proposes a “wind leakage prevention structure for an electronic device” that closes a gap generated at a position.

  However, the “wind leakage prevention structure of an electronic device” disclosed in Patent Document 1 is basically only for preventing wind leakage caused by attachment / detachment of a housing of the same size, and a housing of various sizes. There is a problem that the structure of the rack cabinet in which the bodies are stored in parallel cannot be dealt with.

  For example, when a 1U-thick casing is stored on one side of a wind leakage prevention plate and a 2U-thickness casing is stored on the other side, a 1U-wide wind leakage prevention plate is used. The gap after removing the 1U-thickness casing can be closed, but the gap after removing the 2U-thickness casing cannot be closed, resulting in a 1U gap. Also, if a 2U-wide wind leakage prevention plate is used under the same conditions, the gap after removing the 2U-thickness case can be closed, but there is a case when a 1U-thickness case is removed. As a result, the width of the wind leakage prevention plate becomes too large and cannot be swung to an appropriate position.

For example, when it is assumed that only a 1U-thickness case is stored, two sheets adjacent to the case when the case is removed when a wind leakage prevention plate is provided at a pitch of 1U. This causes a problem that the air leak prevention plates are closed and interfere with each other, so that the pitch of the air leak prevention plates must be set to 2U. However, if the two casings located on both sides of the wind leakage prevention plate are removed with the wind leakage prevention plate provided at a pitch of 2U, the gap after removing one of the casings is closed. It is theoretically possible, but it is physically impossible to close the gap after removing the other housing.
Here, daringly, “theoretically” means that the wind leak prevention plate is swung to a position that closes the gap after removing one of the housings, and the wind leak prevention plate is moved in that state. This is because there is a premise that if it can be fixed. Actually, since there is no housing to be in contact with the spring of the wind leak prevention plate, the wind leak prevention plate cannot be swung automatically. Even so, this wind leakage prevention plate cannot be stopped at a position where it should be desired, that is, at a position where the gap after removing one of the cases is closed.

JP 2005-191348 A

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the inconveniences of the prior art and to store housings of various sizes in parallel without requiring troublesome attachment / detachment work such as a dummy panel that closes a gap between the housings. Even so, to provide a rack cabinet that can reliably prevent warm air released from the back of the casing from entering the front of the casing again, regardless of the storage condition of the casing. is there.

The rack cabinet of the present invention is a rack cabinet for storing the casing of the electronic device in parallel in the vertical direction, and in order to achieve the above problem, in particular,
The front opening of the cabinet body that constitutes the storage part of the rack cabinet has an upper and lower width that is an integral multiple of the thickness that serves as a design reference for the housing, and the cabinet on one side of the front opening. A swinging shutter comprising a pair of opening / closing bodies pivoted at one end to the front frame of the main body and opened symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet main body is arranged in two or more rows above and below the entire front opening. It has the structure characterized by having arranged in parallel over.

In the above configuration, when the housing of the electronic device is inserted toward the front opening of the cabinet body, first, the front sides of the pair of opening and closing bodies constituting the swinging shutter are pushed by the back of the housing, Each of the opening / closing bodies pivoted at one end on the left and right sides of the opening is pushed open symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet body, and the housing to the cabinet body constituting the rack cabinet storage section Ingress and installation are allowed.
Of the oscillating shutters arranged in parallel over two or more rows across the entire front opening of the cabinet body, only the oscillating shutter that contacts the back of the housing to be stored Is pushed open, and the closed state of the other shutters is maintained, so that the front opening of the cabinet body is completely covered by the front panel of the housed housing and the shutters maintained in the closed state. Thus, the inconvenience caused by the warm air released from the back surface of the housing around the front surface of the housing again is prevented.
In addition, the swinging shutter consisting of a pair of opening / closing bodies is pivotally attached integrally to the front frame of the cabinet body, so that the parts can be detached and attached unlike the case where the gap is closed by a dummy panel or the like. There is no inconvenience, and the problem of forgetting to attach a dummy panel or the like is also solved.

  The vertical width of the opening / closing body constituting the shutter may be formed to be equal to the thickness serving as a reference in designing the housing.

  All the thicknesses designed according to this standard can be provided by arranging in parallel a shutter equivalent to the standard thickness of the cabinet design over the entire front opening of the cabinet body that constitutes the rack cabinet storage unit. The housing of the electronic device can be accommodated.

  Furthermore, each of the pair of opening / closing bodies may be provided with a biasing means for swinging and biasing the opening / closing body from a swing limit position of the opening / closing body toward a position where the opening / closing body closes the front opening. desirable.

  When the housing of the electronic device is removed from the cabinet main body constituting the rack cabinet housing, the pair of opening / closing bodies pushed open by this housing automatically closes the front opening by the force of the biasing means. Since it returns, unlike the case where the gap is closed by a dummy panel or the like, there is no problem of forgetting to close the empty gap after removing the housing.

  Moreover, it is desirable to provide a housing attachment portion for fixing the left and right ends of the front panel of the housing on the front frame of the cabinet body on both the left and right sides of the front opening.

  In a state where the housing of the electronic device is housed inside the cabinet body, each of the pair of opening and closing bodies constituting the swing shutter is pushed and opened symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet body, and the housing and the cabinet body In particular, when the depth of the housing is short, it is difficult to fix the left and right side surfaces of the housing to the inside of the left and right panels of the cabinet body. For this reason, the housing mounting portions are provided on the left and right front frames of the front opening of the cabinet body, and the left and right ends of the front panel of the housing are fixed to the front frame of the cabinet body.

  Further, a housing mounting portion for attaching the side surface portion or the back surface portion of the housing to the inside of the left and right panels of the cabinet body with a space exceeding the width of the opening / closing body from the front opening of the cabinet body. May be provided.

  When the depth of the casing is greater than the width of the opening / closing body, that is, 1/2 of the front opening of the cabinet body, the casing is housed inside the cabinet body, and each of the opening / closing bodies Even in the state of being located between the left and right panels, the rear part and side part of the housing protrudes to the rear of the opening / closing body, so it exceeds the width of the opening / closing body from the front opening of the cabinet body. The housing can be fixed to the cabinet body by using the housing mounting portions provided inside the left and right panels of the cabinet body at intervals. Therefore, even when the casing is long and heavy, the casing can be securely fixed to the cabinet body.

The rack cabinet according to the present invention has an upper and lower width that is an integral multiple of a thickness that is a standard for designing a housing of an electronic device, at the front opening of the cabinet body that constitutes a storage section of the rack cabinet, and is inside the cabinet body. Only a swinging shutter that is provided with two or more rows of upper and lower sides in parallel and that is in contact with the rear surface of the housing to be stored is provided. Since the housing is attached by pushing open, the front opening of the cabinet body can be completely covered by the front panel of the housed housing and the shutter maintained in the closed state. Inconvenience caused by the warm air released from the back of the body re-entering the front of the housing, i.e., the electronic device housing sucks warm air into the electronic device inside the housing. Problems such as the cooling efficiency is deteriorated can be reliably prevented.
In addition, the swinging shutter consisting of a pair of opening / closing bodies is pivotally attached integrally to the front frame of the cabinet body, so that it is bothersome to detach the parts, unlike the case where the gap is closed by a dummy panel or the like. This eliminates the problem of forgetting to install dummy panels.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a rack cabinet of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the rack cabinet of the embodiment divided by a horizontal plane, and FIGS. It is an action principle figure shown about the operation procedure in the case of storing the case of an electronic device in the rack cabinet.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the main part of the rack cabinet 1 of this embodiment includes a cabinet body 3 that functions as a storage unit for storing the casing 2 of the electronic device in parallel in the vertical direction, It is composed of a number of oscillating shutters 9 composed of a pair of opening / closing bodies 4 and 4 having a vertical width that is an integral multiple of the thickness that serves as a design reference.

  In this embodiment, assuming that the housing 2 of the electronic device designed based on the EIA standard is accommodated, the vertical width of the shutter 9 composed of the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4 is set to a width equivalent to 1 U, that is, 44.45 mm. The shutter 9 is arranged in parallel across the upper and lower 14 rows over the entire front opening 3a of the cabinet body 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each of the opening / closing bodies 4, 4 constituting the shutter 9 has a front frame 3 b of the cabinet body 3 via hinges 5, 5 on the left and right sides of the front opening 3 a of the cabinet body 3. , 3b is pivotally attached at one end, and opens symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet body 3, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG.

The torsion coil springs 6 and 6 mounted coaxially with the hinges 5 and 5 as urging means for the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4 have one end abutting against the back side of the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4 and the other end side being a cabinet. The main body 3 is in contact with the back side of the front frame 3b.
That is, the opening / closing body 4 located on the left side in FIG. 2 is oscillated and biased clockwise around the hinge 5, while the opening / closing body 4 located on the right side in FIG. 2 is counterclockwise around the hinge 5. Is urged to swing.
The initial position of FIG. 2 in which the opening / closing bodies 4 and 4 block the front opening 3a is the clockwise swing limit of the hinge 5 positioned on the left side in FIG. 2 and the reaction of the hinge 5 positioned on the right side in FIG. The opening / closing body 4 positioned on the left side in FIG. 2 is restricted by the clockwise swing limit, and the tip of the opening / closing body 4 is in contact with the inside of the left panel 3c of the cabinet body 3 from the initial position in FIG. The opening / closing body 4 located on the right side in FIG. 2 is allowed to swing to the movement limit position, and the front end of the opening / closing body 4 contacts the inside of the right panel 3d of the cabinet body 3 from the initial position in FIG. Swing to the swing limit position is allowed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the left and right ends of the front panel 2 a of the housing 2 are fastened to the front surfaces of the front frames 3 b and 3 b located on the left and right sides of the front opening 3 a of the cabinet body 3. The housing mounting portions 7 and 7 each having a rectangular hole are provided, and inside the left and right panels 3c and 3d of the cabinet body 3, as shown in FIG. , 4 are provided at a position that does not prevent the swinging of the opening / closing bodies 4, 4 at intervals greater than the lateral width of the housing 4. ing.

  The right and left ends of the front panel 2a of the housing 2 are fixed to the housing mounting portions 7 and 7 of the front frames 3b and 3b using cage nuts or square nuts, and various angles and rails. It is already known that the side surface or the back surface of the housing 2 is fixed to the housing mounting portions 8 and 8 inside the left and right panels 3c and 3d using the above.

  Here, the back panel 3e of the cabinet body 3 is formed of a punch panel on the premise that the housing 2 of the electronic device incorporating the air cooling device that takes in outside air from the front and discharges it to the back side is housed. A punch panel including the left and right panels 3c and 3d and the top panel 3f may be used, and an electric fan or an exhaust duct may be provided in the cabinet body 3.

In this embodiment, the vertical width of the shutter 9 is set to 1 U, which is the same as the thickness that serves as a design reference of the housing 2, and the shutter 9 extends over the entire front opening 3 a of the cabinet body 3 in 14 rows. Since they are arranged in parallel, the thickness of one casing 2 to be stored can be handled in 1U increments from 1U to 14U. Is less than 14U, it is possible to respond in increments of 1U from a combination in which a plurality of casings 2 of various thicknesses are stacked in the vertical direction to a total thickness of 2U to a maximum of 14U. It is.
Here, 14 rows of shutters 9 are provided in increments of 1U, which is the smallest unit in the design of the housing 2, but it is rare to store 14 housings 2 having a thickness of 1U. Actually, a plurality of shutters 9 having a vertical width that is an integral multiple of 1U as a reference thickness, such as 1U, 2U, 3U,. It is also possible to reduce the manufacturing cost of the rack cabinet 1.

  When housing the housing 2 of the electronic device in the cabinet body 3 that functions as a housing section, first, the housing 2 is inserted toward the front opening 3a of the cabinet body 3 as shown in FIG.

  Then, the front side of the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4 constituting the swinging shutter 9 is pushed by the back surface of the housing 2, and the opening and closing body having one end pivotally attached to the left and right front frames 3b and 3b of the front opening 3a. As shown in FIG. 4, each of 4 and 4 resists the urging force of torsion coil springs 6 and 6 functioning as urging means, and the opening / closing body 4 located on the left side in FIG. 4 swings counterclockwise. On the other hand, the opening / closing body 4 located on the right side in FIG. 4 swings clockwise and is pushed and opened symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet body 3 so that the housing 2 enters the cabinet body 3. Permissible.

  At this time, for example, when the casing 2 having a thickness of 1U is stored in the uppermost part of the cabinet body 3, only one shutter 9 located at the uppermost part in FIG. When the casing 2 having a thickness is accommodated in the uppermost part of the cabinet body 3, the shutter 9 located at the uppermost part in FIG. 1 and the two shutters 9 located immediately below the shutter 9 are pushed and opened simultaneously.

  That is, the shutter 9 that is actually pushed open has the back surface of the housing 2 to be stored among the shutters 9 arranged in parallel in the upper and lower 14 rows over the entire front opening 3a. The closed state of the other shutters 9 is limited to the contacted ones, and the biasing force of the torsion coil springs 6 and 6 for swinging and biasing the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4 constituting these shutters 9 and the opening and closing bodies 4 and 4. The initial position as shown in FIG. 2 is maintained by the relationship with the hinges 5 and 5 that regulate the swing limit position.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the housing 2 is securely pushed in until the left and right ends of the front panel 2 a of the housing 2 come into contact with the front frames 3 b and 3 b of the cabinet body 3, and then the housing is attached in advance. Screws (not shown) are screwed from the front side of the front panel 2a toward the cage nuts, square nuts, etc. attached to the parts 7, 7, so that the front panel 2a of the housing 2 is attached to the front frame 3b of the cabinet body 3. Fix to 3b.

  Since the housing 2 as shown in FIG. 5 is short in depth and light in weight, it can be securely fixed to the cabinet body 3 simply by fastening both ends of the front panel 2a to the front frames 3b and 3b.

  Further, in the case of the casing 2 having a long depth and a large weight, particularly the casing 2 whose depth exceeds the lateral width of the opening / closing bodies 4, 4, that is, the width of the front opening 3 a of the cabinet body 3. Further, using a known angle or rail, the left and right panels 3c, 3d of the cabinet body 3 are connected to the rear and side portions of the casing 2 which protrudes further rearward from the open / close bodies 4 and 4 which are pushed open. It fixes to the housing | casing attachment part 8 inside.

  Of the shutters 9 arranged in parallel across the upper and lower 14 rows across the entire front opening 3a, only the one that contacts the back of the housing 2 to be stored is pushed open, and the other shutters 9 are opened. Therefore, the front opening 2a of the cabinet body 3 covers the entire surface by the front panel 2a of the housing 2 housed in the cabinet body 3 and the shutter 9 maintained in the closed state. The inconvenience caused by the warm air released from the back surface of the housing 2 wrapping around the front surface of the housing 2 again, that is, the warm air once discharged from the housing 2 is The problem that the cooling efficiency of the electronic device in the housing 2 is deteriorated by being sucked from the front surface can be prevented.

  On the other hand, when the housing 2 of the electronic device is removed from the cabinet body 3, the opening / closing body located on the left side in FIG. 5 by the biasing force of the torsion coil springs 6 and 6 functioning as biasing means. 4 swings clockwise, while the opening / closing body 4 located on the right side in FIG. 5 swings counterclockwise and is restricted by the swing limit of the hinges 5, 5, that is, as shown in FIG. When the housing 2 is removed, a gap generated on the front surface of the cabinet body 3 is automatically closed by the shutter 9 including the opening / closing bodies 4 and 4.

  Unlike the case in which the gap after removing the housing 2 is closed by a dummy panel or the like, there is no trouble of detaching parts, and there is no concern that the gap formed after the housing 2 is removed is forgotten.

  Here, as an example, the rack cabinet 1 corresponding to the housing 2 designed under the EIA standard has been described. However, in the case of supporting the housing 2 designed under the JIS standard, 1U (44. Instead of 45 mm), 1J (50 mm), or 2J, 3J,... May be used as the vertical width of the shutter 9 composed of the opening / closing bodies 4 and 4, and the other points are exactly the same as described above.

It is the perspective view which showed the external appearance of the rack cabinet of one Embodiment to which this invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which divided and showed the rack cabinet of the same embodiment by the horizontal surface. FIG. 5 is an operation principle diagram illustrating an operation procedure when the housing of the electronic device is housed in the rack cabinet of the embodiment, and more particularly, a diagram illustrating a state immediately before the housing is inserted into the rack cabinet. FIG. 5 is an operation principle diagram showing an operation procedure when the housing of the electronic device is stored in the rack cabinet of the same embodiment, and more particularly, a diagram showing a state immediately after the housing starts to enter the rack cabinet. FIG. 5 is an operation principle diagram illustrating an operation procedure when the housing of the electronic device is housed in the rack cabinet of the embodiment, and more particularly, a diagram illustrating a state where housing of the housing in the rack cabinet is completed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rack cabinet 2 Case 2a of an electronic device Front panel 3 Cabinet body (storage part)
3a Front opening 3b Front frame 3c Left panel 3d Right panel 3e Rear panel 3f Top panel 4 Opening and closing body 5 Hinge 6 Torsion coil spring (biasing means)
7 Case mounting portion for fixing the left and right ends of the front panel of the housing 8 Case mounting portion 9 for fixing the side surface portion or the back surface portion of the housing Shutter

Claims (5)

A rack cabinet for storing the casing of the electronic device in parallel in the vertical direction,
The front opening of the cabinet body that constitutes the storage part of the rack cabinet has an upper and lower width that is an integral multiple of the thickness that serves as a design reference for the housing, and the cabinet on one side of the front opening. A swinging shutter comprising a pair of opening / closing bodies pivoted at one end to the front frame of the main body and opened symmetrically toward the inside of the cabinet main body is arranged in two or more rows above and below the entire front opening. A rack cabinet characterized by being arranged in parallel.   The rack cabinet according to claim 1, wherein an upper and lower width of the opening / closing body is formed to be equal to a thickness serving as a design reference.   Each of the pair of opening / closing bodies is provided with a biasing means for swinging and biasing the opening / closing body from a swing limit position of the opening / closing body toward a position where the opening / closing body closes the front opening. The rack cabinet according to claim 1 or 2.   The housing mounting portion for fixing the left and right end portions of the front panel of the housing is provided on the front frame of the cabinet body on both the left and right sides of the front opening. Item 4. The rack cabinet according to item 2 or item 3.   Provided with a space that exceeds the width of the opening / closing body from the front opening, a housing mounting portion is provided on the inside of the left and right panels of the cabinet body to attach the side surface portion or the back surface portion of the housing. The rack cabinet according to claim 4.

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