JPH10214137A - Cooling mechanism for case body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently cool the inside of a case body with a simple structure, by providing an air sending port to be provided on the case body, and a cold air supply means for supplying air at a temperature lower than the temperature of a room where the case body is installed or the temperature inside the case body to the air sending port. SOLUTION: The suction port 12 of a cooling duct 10 is connected to a part of the cold air blow-off port 21 of the indoor machine 20 of an air conditioner. That is, the case body 1 and the indoor machine 20 are connected through the cooling duct 10. Thus, at the time of operating the air conditioner and operating an exhaust fan 4, a part of the cold air ejected by the indoor machine 20 is guided through the cooling duct 10 into the case body 1 as the air 6a for cooling and fetched into the case body 1. The air 6a for cooling fetched into the case body 1 is passed near hard disk devices 2a-2d, cools the respective hard disk devices 2a-2d, is heated accompanying that, rises inside the case body 1 and is discharged from the exhaust fan 4 to the outside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a casing cooling mechanism for cooling a casing containing a heating element.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a large number of hard disk devices are housed in a housing and used as a hard disk array. In such a hard disk array, since the amount of heat generated by the hard disk device is extremely large, for example, a large-sized cooling fan or a plurality of fans are used to ventilate the inside to cool the inside.

[0003]

However, in the above-described method, since only room air is blown into the housing as cooling air, a sufficient cooling effect cannot be obtained when the room temperature is high. Was. In addition, there is a similar problem not only in the hard disk device but also in a housing that accommodates a large number of devices such as a large computer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a cooling mechanism for a casing that can efficiently cool the inside of the casing while having a simple structure.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing cooling mechanism for solving the above-mentioned problems.
A housing cooling mechanism for cooling a housing that houses a heating element, comprising: an air supply port provided in the housing; and a room temperature at which the housing is installed in the air supply port or a temperature in the housing. Cold air supply means for supplying air at a temperature lower than the temperature of
Air that is lower in temperature than room temperature can be sent into the housing and cooled efficiently.

The heating element is exemplified by a hard disk drive and various electric devices described in claim 3. The cool air supply means may include, for example, a blowing means such as a fan, or may merely guide the cool air blown by another blowing means.

[0007] Examples of air having a temperature lower than room temperature include cold air discharged from an air conditioner and outside air in winter and the like. In particular, an air conditioner is often used for cooling in summer, when the room temperature tends to be high, and is convenient to use as a cool air source in such an environment.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a casing cooling mechanism according to the first aspect, wherein the cool air supply means includes a discharge port detachable from the air supply port or a blower of an air conditioner. It is characterized by being a cylindrical body having a detachable suction port in the mouth. This configuration is particularly effective in a high temperature season such as summer. Note that one end of the cylindrical body may be a discharge port and the other end may be a suction port, and both the discharge port and the suction port may be provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling mechanism for a housing, wherein the housing is a hard disk case for housing a hard disk device as the heating element. Features. This configuration is suitable for cooling a hard disk array.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0011]

As shown in FIG. 1, a hard disk drive 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d as a heating element is accommodated in a housing 1 using a cooling mechanism of the housing of the present embodiment. Each of the hard disk devices 2a to 2d is placed on a shelf 5, and each shelf 5 is provided with a ventilation hole 7 at a position facing the bottom of the hard disk devices 2a to 2d. That is, the inside of the housing 1 can be ventilated in the vertical direction. An air supply port 3 for taking in cool air from the outside is provided at a lower portion of the housing 1, and an exhaust fan 4 is provided at an upper portion thereof.
Is attached.

With this configuration, when the exhaust fan 4 is operated, air can be sucked in from the air supply port 3, and the air can be exhausted after passing through the inside of the housing 1. Further, the outlet 3 of the cooling duct 10 is connected to the air inlet 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inlet 12 of the cooling duct 10 is connected to the cold air outlet 2 of the indoor unit 20 of the air conditioner.
1 is connected. The discharge port 9 is the air supply port 3
The suction port 12 has a structure that is removable from the cool air outlet 21.

As shown in FIG. 1, since the casing 1 and the indoor unit 20 are connected via the cooling duct 10, when the air conditioner is operated and the exhaust fan 4 is operated, the indoor unit 20 is A part of the discharged cool air 6 can be guided into the housing 1 through the cooling duct 10 as the cooling air 6a and taken into the housing 1. The cooling air 6a taken into the housing 1 passes near the hard disk devices 2a to 2d, cools the respective hard disk devices 2a to 2d, is warmed accordingly, and rises inside the housing 1 to exhaust. Fan 4
Is discharged to the outside.

That is, assuming that the temperature of the cold air 6 (cooling air 6a) from the indoor unit 20 is room temperature-T, the cooling air 6a is taken into the housing 1 so that the indoor air is normally sucked. The cooling efficiency can be increased by T as compared with the case, and the cooling mechanism can be simplified, for example, by reducing the number of exhaust fans or using a smaller exhaust fan.

In a low-temperature period such as winter, for example, the room is usually heated.
By taking out the suction port 12 of the outside and operating the exhaust fan 4, it is possible to take in cool air outside and efficiently cool the inside of the housing 1. If a flexible hose is used as the cooling duct 10, the cooling duct 10 can be bent freely. Therefore, the installation of the cooling duct 10 is simple, and the cooling duct 10 can be selected in a place that does not interfere. Further, it can be attached to various types of indoor units depending on the structure of the suction port 12.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a casing cooling mechanism according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of guidance of cool air from an indoor unit in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing (hard disk case) 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d ... Hard disk drive 3 ... Air supply port 4 ... Exhaust fan 5 ... Shelf 6 ... Cold air 6a ... Cooling air 7 ... Vent hole 9 ... Discharge port 10 ... Cooling duct (Cold air supply means, cylindrical body) 12 ... Suction port 20 ... Indoor unit (air conditioner) 21 ... Cool air outlet (blower port)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A housing cooling mechanism for cooling a housing containing a heating element, comprising: an air supply port provided in the housing; and the air supply port provided with the housing. A cooling unit for supplying air at a room temperature or a temperature lower than the temperature in the housing. 2. A cooling mechanism for a casing according to claim 1, wherein said cool air supply means has a detachable discharge port at said air supply port or a detachable suction port at an air supply port of an air conditioner. A cooling mechanism for a housing, characterized in that: 3. The cooling mechanism for a housing according to claim 1, wherein the housing is a hard disk case that houses a hard disk device as the heating element.