JP7081928B2 - Air volume change detector - Google Patents

Description

The present application relates to an air flow amount change detecting device applied to a server room provided with an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan (hereinafter, also referred to as an ICT device).

The ICT device includes a cooling fan for cooling a heating element such as a CPU. The power consumption of the ICT device is generally the sum of the power consumption of the CPU and the like and the power consumption of the cooling fan. When the temperature of the air sucked into the cooling fan (hereinafter referred to as the suction temperature) of the cooling fan decreases, the number of revolutions decreases and the power consumption of the cooling fan decreases.

Therefore, for example, in the air conditioner described in Patent Document 1, when the suction temperature exceeds a predetermined upper limit temperature, the set temperature is controlled to be lowered. The set temperature is the temperature of the air conditioning air supplied by the air conditioner to the server room.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-214944

As described above, in order to reduce the power consumption of the cooling fan, it is desirable to suppress the increase in the rotation speed of the cooling fan. That is, in order to reduce the power consumption of the cooling fan, it is desirable to operate the air conditioner in response to the change in the rotation speed of the cooling fan.

Therefore, if the air conditioner can be directly linked with the ICT device, it may be possible to reduce the power consumption of the cooling fan. However, when the ICT device cannot output information indicating the rotation speed of the cooling fan to the outside, it is difficult to operate the air conditioner in response to the change in the rotation speed of the cooling fan.

In view of the above points, the present application discloses an example of an air flow rate change detecting device for detecting a change in the rotation speed of the cooling fan, that is, whether or not the air flow rate of the cooling fan has changed.

In an example of the blower amount change detection device according to the present application, the information acquisition unit acquires an information value indicating the amount of energization to the blower, and the information acquisition unit is in a state where the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower has not changed. It is provided with a determination unit for determining that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan has changed when the amount of change in the acquired information value exceeds a predetermined amount of change.

As a result, even if the ICT device cannot output information indicating the rotation speed of the cooling fan to the outside, it detects whether or not the rotation speed of the cooling fan has changed, that is, whether or not the air flow rate of the cooling fan has changed. It becomes possible.

It is a figure which shows the air-conditioning system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the air-conditioning system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the air-conditioning apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the characteristic of the blower which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the control part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the air-conditioning apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the air-conditioning apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation of the control part which concerns on 4th Embodiment.

The following "invention embodiment" shows an example of an embodiment belonging to the technical scope of the present invention. That is, the matters specifying the invention described in the claims are not limited to the specific configuration, structure, etc. shown in the following embodiments.

At least one member or part described with a reference numeral is provided, unless otherwise specified by "one" or the like. That is, if there is no notice such as "one", two or more of the members may be provided.

(First Embodiment)
1. 1. Configuration of air-conditioning system In this embodiment, an air-conditioning amount change detection device is applied to an air-conditioning system that air-conditions a communication equipment room, a server room, or the like (hereinafter referred to as a server room). As shown in FIG. 1, there is at least one information and communication technology device (hereinafter referred to as an ICT device) 1 (in the present embodiment, a plurality of units) in the server room. It is installed in a state where it is mounted on a plurality of) racks 2.

Each rack 2 is a shelf-shaped member. As shown in FIG. 2, each rack 2 is installed so that the longitudinal directions of adjacent racks 2 are parallel to each other. Air passages 2A and 2B extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rack 2 are provided on both sides of each rack 2.

At least one air conditioner 3 or the like is installed in the server room. The air conditioner 3 sucks air from the server room and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. That is, by cooling the air in the server room, each ICT device 1 is cooled through the air.

As shown in FIG. 3, the air conditioner 3 includes at least a cooling heat exchanger 4 such as an evaporator and an electric blower 5. The blower 5 includes an electric motor (not shown), an impeller (fan) that is rotationally driven by the electric motor, and the like.

The air conditioner 3 supplies cold air to the air passage 2A, recovers heat from the ICT device 1, and sucks hot air whose temperature has risen from the air passage 2B. That is, the cold air is distributed and supplied to each ICT device 1 from the air passage 2A (hereinafter referred to as the cold air passage 2A). The warm air discharged from each ICT device 1 is collected in the air passage 2B (hereinafter referred to as the hot air passage 2B) and then sucked into the air conditioning device 3.

The control unit (not shown) of the air conditioner 3 has a refrigerating capacity generated by the cooling heat exchanger 4 so that the temperature of the cold air to be supplied or the temperature of the hot air to be sucked is in a predetermined temperature range. The amount of air blown by the blower 5 is controlled.

As shown in FIG. 1, a partition member 2C, 2D, a closing panel 2E, and the like are provided in the server room. The partition members 2C and 2D partition the cold air passage 2A and the hot air passage 2B. The closing panel 2E closes the gap between the rack 2 and the ICT device 1 and the gap between the ICT devices 1 in the rack 2, and separates the cold air passage 2A and the hot air passage 2B.

As a result, (a) the cold air supplied to the cold air passage 2A bypasses the ICT device 1 and directly flows into the hot air passage 2B, and (b) flows through the ICT device 1 and flows into the hot air passage 2B. It is suppressed that the air discharged to the air conditioner bypasses the air conditioner 3 and flows into the cold air passage 2A.

Each ICT device 1 has an information processing calculation unit (hereinafter referred to as a CPU), an electric cooling fan 1A (see FIG. 2), and the like. The CPU executes information processing. The cooling fan 1A supplies indoor air for cooling (hereinafter referred to as cooling air) to a heating element such as a CPU.

That is, the cooling fan 1A supplies the air in the cold air passage 2A as cooling air to a heating element such as a CPU. The cooling air supplied to the heating element takes heat from the heating element and is discharged to the warm air passage 2B. The cooling fan 1A increases the amount of air blown by the cooling air in response to an increase in the temperature of the heating element or the like.

The cooling fan 1A shown in FIG. 2 is described as an axial flow fan. However, the cooling fan 1A shown in FIG. 2 is not a diagram showing an actual structure. Therefore, the impeller of the cooling fan 1A may be an impeller of other types as well as an axial flow fan.

2. 2. Blower amount change detection device 2.1 Outline of the blast amount change detection device The blast amount change detection device 10 (see FIG. 3) is a device for detecting whether or not the blast amount by the cooling fan 1A has changed. The air flow amount change detection device 10 according to the present embodiment is realized by software (program) incorporated in the control unit of the air conditioner 3.

The control unit is a controller that controls the operation of the blower 5 and the like, and is a microcomputer configured to have a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. The software is stored in advance in a non-volatile storage unit such as a ROM.

2.2 Detection method for change in air volume <Overview of detection method>
Since the blower 5 sucks air from the server room and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room, when the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A changes, the state of the blower 5 changes in response to the change in the amount of blown air. do.

FIG. 4 shows the characteristics of the blower 5 when the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower 5 has not changed. The command signal for controlling the rotation speed is, for example, in the case of a blower using an AC electric motor, the voltage frequency applied to the AC electric motor.

In the blower 5 having the characteristics shown in FIG. 4, when the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increases and changes, the amount of air blown by the blower 5 increases and changes in response to the increase and change in the amount of air blown. As the amount of electricity supplied to the fan increases and changes, the blowing pressure of the blower 5 decreases.

Therefore, the blower amount change detecting device 10 according to the present embodiment determines that the blower amount by the cooling fan 1A has increased when the change amount of the energization amount exceeds a predetermined change amount and changes. Further, when the change amount of the air current amount is less than the predetermined change amount, the air blower amount change detecting device 10 determines that the air blow amount by the cooling fan 1A has not increased and changed.

<Details of detection method>
As shown in FIG. 3, the current sensor 11A outputs a signal indicating the amount of electricity supplied to the blower 5. That is, the current sensor 11A is an example of an information acquisition unit that acquires an information value indicating the amount of energization.

In the blower amount change detection device 10, that is, the control unit, the change amount of the current value (hereinafter, also referred to as an input current value) acquired by the current sensor 11A is determined in advance in a state where the applied voltage frequency does not change. It is determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased and changed when the amount (hereinafter referred to as the threshold value A) has been increased and changed.

Note that FIG. 5 is an example of a flowchart showing the determination control. The program for executing the determination control is read into the CPU of the control unit and executed by the CPU, that is, the control unit. The program is stored in a non-volatile storage unit such as a ROM provided in the control unit.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the control unit, the rotation speed command to the blower 5, that is, whether the applied voltage frequency (also referred to as an input voltage frequency) has not changed, in other words, the applied voltage frequency is before the present time. It is determined whether or not they are the same (S1).

When the control unit determines that the applied voltage frequency has not changed, that is, the applied voltage frequency is the same as before the present time (S1: YES), the applied voltage (also referred to as an input voltage) has not changed. Or, in other words, it is determined whether or not the applied voltage is the same as before the present time (S5).

If the control unit determines that the applied voltage has not changed, that is, the applied voltage is the same as before the present time (S5: YES), whether or not the amount of change in the input current value has changed beyond the threshold value A. Is determined (S10).

When the control unit determines that the amount of change in the input current value exceeds the threshold value A (S10: YES), the control unit determines whether or not the change in the input current value is an increasing change (S15). When the control unit determines that the change in the input current value is an increasing change (S15: YES), it determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased (S20).

When the control unit determines that the change in the input current value is not an increase change (S15: NO), it determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has decreased (S25). When the control unit determines that the amount of change in the input current value has not changed beyond the threshold value A (S10: NO), it determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has not changed (S30).

When the control unit determines that the applied voltage frequency has changed (S1: NO) and determines that the applied voltage has changed (S5: NO), the control unit terminates this control. Incidentally, this control is automatically executed at predetermined time intervals when the air conditioner 3 is operating.

When the control unit determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased, at least the amount of air blown by the blower 5 is increased. Then, after increasing the amount of air blown by the blower 5, the control unit lowers the temperature of the cold air supplied to the server room as compared with the current time when it is determined that the predetermined conditions are satisfied.

3. 3. Features of the air conditioner according to the present embodiment In the air-conditioning amount change detecting device 10 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of change in the input current value increases and changes beyond the threshold value A, the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increases and changes. Judge. As a result, even if the ICT device 1 cannot output information indicating the rotation speed of the cooling fan 1A to the outside, whether or not the rotation speed of the cooling fan 1A has changed, that is, the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has changed. It becomes possible to detect.

(Second Embodiment)
The blower amount change detecting device 10 according to the present embodiment utilizes the characteristic that the blower pressure of the blower 5 decreases when the blower amount by the cooling fan 1A increases and changes (see FIG. 4).

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the blower amount change detecting device 10 according to the present embodiment has a first pressure as an information acquisition unit for acquiring an information value indicating a pressure difference between the suction side and the blower side of the blower 5. It has a sensor 11B and a second pressure sensor 11C.

The first pressure sensor 11B detects the air pressure on the suction side of the blower 5. The second pressure sensor 11C detects the air pressure on the blowing side of the blower 5. The control unit determines whether or not the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has changed, using the difference between the air pressure detected by the first pressure sensor 11B and the air pressure detected by the second pressure sensor 11C as an information value.

The method for determining whether or not the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has changed is the same as that in the first embodiment. That is, the control unit said that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increased and changed when the amount of change in the above information value exceeded a predetermined amount of change and changed in a state where the input voltage frequency did not change. Judgment (see Fig. 4).

The control unit determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has decreased and changed when the amount of change in the above information value has increased and changed beyond the predetermined amount of change in the state where the input voltage frequency has not changed. (See FIG. 4).

In the state where the input voltage frequency has not changed, the control unit has determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has not decreased and changed when the amount of change in the above information value has not changed beyond the predetermined amount of change. to decide.

Since the same configuration requirements and the like as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the above-described embodiment, duplicate description will be omitted.
(Third Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 7, the blower amount change detection device 10 according to the present embodiment serves as an information acquisition unit for acquiring an information value indicating the amount of air supplied from the air conditioner 3 to the server room on the blower side of the blower 5. Has an air volume sensor 11D.

The control unit uses the air volume detected by the air volume sensor 11D as an information value to determine whether or not the air volume of the cooling fan 1A has changed. That is, the control unit said that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increased and changed when the amount of change in the above information value exceeded a predetermined amount of change in a state where the input voltage frequency did not change. to decide.

The control unit determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has decreased and changed when the amount of change in the above information value has decreased and changed beyond the predetermined amount of change in the state where the input voltage frequency has not changed. ..

The control unit does not say that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has changed when the amount of change in the above information value has not changed beyond the predetermined amount of change in the state where the input voltage frequency has not changed. to decide.

Since the same configuration requirements and the like as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the above-described embodiment, duplicate description will be omitted.
(Fourth Embodiment)
The control unit, that is, the air flow rate change detection device according to the present embodiment, satisfies a predetermined condition after the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit exceeds the predetermined change amount. When the state is reached, it is determined whether or not the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has changed.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the current sensor 11A is used as an information acquisition unit for acquiring information values related to the blower 5. That is, FIG. 8 is an example in which the present embodiment is applied to the first embodiment.
That is, as shown in FIG. 8, when the control unit determines that the amount of change in the input current value has changed beyond the threshold value A (S10: YES), the input current value before the change, that is, before the present time. After storing I1 in the ROM (S13), it is determined whether or not the change in the input current value is an increasing change (S15).

When the control unit determines that the change in the input current value is an increasing change (S15: YES), the value obtained by subtracting the input current value I1 before the current time from the current input current value I2, that is, the input current value. It is determined whether or not the state in which the amount of change exceeds the threshold value A satisfies a predetermined condition (S17).

In the present embodiment, when the state in which the amount of change in the input current value exceeds the threshold value A continues for a predetermined time or longer, the control unit determines that the above-mentioned "predetermined condition" is satisfied. Then, when it is determined that the above "predetermined condition" is satisfied (S17: YES), the control unit determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased (S20).

When the control unit determines that the change in the input current value is not an increase change (S15: NO), the control unit determines whether or not the state in which the change amount of the input current value is less than the threshold value A satisfies a predetermined condition. Judgment (S23). When the control unit determines that the above "predetermined conditions" are satisfied (S23: YES), it determines that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has decreased (S25).

If the control unit determines that the above "predetermined conditions" are not satisfied (S17: NO, S23: NO), the control unit terminates this control. Since the same configuration requirements and the like as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the above-described embodiment, duplicate description will be omitted.

As a result, in the present embodiment, for example, (a) a transient change in the amount of air blown by opening and closing the entrance / exit door of the server room, a transient change in the amount of air blown when the filter is replaced, and (b) a partition member 2C, It is possible to prevent the blower amount change detection device from making an erroneous judgment due to the influence of the transient change of the blower amount due to the maintenance of the 2D and the closed panel 2E and the like.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, since the blower having the characteristics shown in FIG. 4 is used, the control unit determines that (a) the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increases when the input current value increases and changes, and , (B) It was determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increased when the pressure difference between the suction side and the blowout side of the blower 5 decreased and changed.

However, the invention disclosed in the present specification is not limited to this. That is, when a blower having characteristics different from the characteristics shown in FIG. 4 is used, the control unit determines that (a) the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A increases when the input current value decreases and changes. In addition, (b) it may be determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased when the pressure difference between the suction side and the blowout side of the blower 5 has increased and changed.

In the above-described embodiment, it is determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased and changed when the amount of air detected by the air volume sensor 11D has increased and changed. However, the invention disclosed in the present specification is not limited to this. That is, depending on the characteristics of the blower, it may be determined that the amount of air blown by the cooling fan 1A has increased and changed when the amount of air detected by the air volume sensor 11D has decreased.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as long as it conforms to the gist of the invention described in the claims. Therefore, at least two of the plurality of embodiments described above may be combined.

1 ... ICT device 1A ... Cooling fan 2A ... Cold air passage 2B ... Hot air passage 3 ... Air conditioner 4 ... Cooling heat exchanger 5 ... Blower 10 ... Blower amount change detection device 11A ... Current sensor

Claims (8)

It is applied to an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air-conditioning amount change detection device that detects whether or not the air-conditioning amount by the fan has changed,
An information acquisition unit that acquires an information value indicating the amount of electricity supplied to the blower, and
When the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit changes beyond a predetermined change amount in a state where the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower has not changed, the cooling fan sends the signal. An air volume change detection device equipped with a judgment unit that determines that the air volume has changed. It is applied to an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air-conditioning amount change detection device that detects whether or not the air-conditioning amount by the fan has changed,
An information acquisition unit that acquires an information value indicating the amount of air supplied from the air conditioner to the server room, and
When the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit changes beyond a predetermined change amount in a state where the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower has not changed, the cooling fan sends the information. An air volume change detection device equipped with a judgment unit that determines that the air volume has changed. It is applied to an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air-conditioning amount change detection device that detects whether or not the air-conditioning amount by the fan has changed,
An information acquisition unit that acquires an information value indicating the pressure difference between the suction side and the blow side of the blower, and
When the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit changes beyond a predetermined change amount in a state where the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower has not changed, the cooling fan sends the signal. An air volume change detection device equipped with a judgment unit that determines that the air volume has changed. After the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit changes beyond the predetermined change amount, the operation unit that operates the determination unit when the predetermined condition is satisfied. The air flow rate change detecting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is incorporated in the control unit of an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air volume change detection program that detects whether or not the air volume by the cooling fan has changed.
The control unit
In a state where the information acquisition unit that acquires the information value indicating the amount of electricity supplied to the blower and the command signal that controls the rotation speed of the blower have not changed, the amount of change in the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit is in advance. A blower amount change detection program that functions as a judgment unit that determines that the blower amount by the cooling fan has changed when the change exceeds a predetermined change amount. It is incorporated in the control unit of an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air volume change detection program that detects whether or not the air volume by the cooling fan has changed.
The control unit
The information acquisition unit acquired the information value indicating the amount of air supplied from the air conditioner to the server room, and the information acquisition unit acquired the information in a state where the command signal for controlling the rotation speed of the blower did not change. An air-conditioning change detection program that functions as a judgment unit to determine that the air-blowing amount by the cooling fan has changed when the amount of change in the information value exceeds a predetermined amount of change. It is incorporated in the control unit of an air conditioner equipped with an electric blower that sucks air from a server room in which an information and communication technology device having an electric cooling fan is installed and supplies air-conditioned air to the server room. In the air volume change detection program that detects whether or not the air volume by the cooling fan has changed.
The control unit
Information acquired by the information acquisition unit in a state where the information acquisition unit that acquires an information value indicating the pressure difference between the suction side and the blower side of the blower and the command signal that controls the rotation speed of the blower have not changed. A blower amount change detection program that functions as a judgment unit for determining that the blower amount by the cooling fan has changed when the change amount of the value exceeds a predetermined change amount. The control unit
After the change amount of the information value acquired by the information acquisition unit changes beyond the predetermined change amount, the operation unit that operates the determination unit when the predetermined condition is satisfied. The air volume change detection program according to any one of claims 5 to 7.

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