KR20060092295A - A power distribution unit and a method of supplying electrical power to upright computer blades - Google Patents

Abstract

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a system and a method for controlling a computer unit such as a computer, a computer component or a computer system. The method includes receiving a command signal by a reset control module from another source such as a remote computer through a network. The command signal includes instructions to manipulate or control a computer unit such as a computer, computer component or computer system. An execution signal is transmitted for manipulation or control of the computer, computer component or computer system. The controlling or manipulation includes resetting, powering on or powering off the computer, computer component or computer system.

Description

How to power upright computer blades and power distribution unit {A POWER DISTRIBUTION UNIT AND A METHOD OF SUPPLYING ELECTRICAL POWER TO UPRIGHT COMPUTER BLADES}

1 is a front, left and top view of a rack mounted system constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1.

3 is a left side view of the rack mounted system of FIG.

4 is a rear view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1.

5 is a right side view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a rear, right and top view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view of the housing of the rack-mounted system of FIG. 1 with various components mounted for illustrative purposes. FIG.

8 is a view showing the housing of FIG. 7 for explaining an installation process of a fan / LAN tray.

9 is an enlarged view of one embodiment of a fan / LAN tray of the rack mounted system of FIG.

9A is an enlarged view of another embodiment of a fan / LAN tray of the rack mounted system of FIG.

9B is an enlarged fragmentary view of the tray of FIG. 9A with some pans removed.

10 is a view of the housing of FIG. 7 with a fan / LAN tray installed;

FIG. 11 is a view of the housing of FIG. 7 illustrating the installation process of a blade; FIG.

12 is an enlarged fragmentary front view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the conditional position of the fan / LAN tray and blades.

13 is a right side view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of the right side cabling.

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary view of the bottom of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the cabling of the front and right portions of a control bay. FIG.

15 is a left side view of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the configuration of left side cabling.

16 is a fragmentary view of the bottom of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1 illustrating the cabling of the back and left portions of the control bay.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged fragmentary view of an embodiment of a power distribution unit (PDU) of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1.

18 is a front view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17.

19 is a fragmentary plan view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17.

20 is a rear view of the PDU shown in FIG. 17.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the flow of air through the rack mounted system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 22 illustrates another embodiment of a rack mounted system according to the present invention and airflow therethrough.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating yet another embodiment of a rack mounted system in accordance with the present invention and airflow therethrough.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of a rack mounted system according to the present invention and airflow therethrough.

FIG. 25 is an enlarged plan view of one embodiment of a blade of the rack mounted system of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 26 is a left side view of the blade of FIG. 1; FIG.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged plan view of the heat sink of the blade of FIG. 25 rotated 90 degrees; FIG.

FIG. 28 is a side view of the heat sink of FIG. 27. FIG.

FIG. 29 is a bottom view of the heat sink of FIG. 27.

30 is a top view of another heatsink that may be used with the computer blade of FIG. 25 in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a side view of the heat sink of FIG. 30.

32 is a side view of the heat sink of FIG. 30.

Related application

This application is incorporated by reference in the following U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 384,996, filed May 31, 2002, entitled "Rack Mountable Computer Component and Method of Making Same"; 60/384987, filed May 31, 2002, entitled "Rack Mountable Computer Component Cooling Method and Device"; 60 / 384,986, filed May 31, 2002, entitled "Rack Mountable Computer Component Fan Cooling Arrangement and Method"; And 60 / 385,005, filed May 31, 2002, entitled "Rack Mountable Computer Component Power Distribution Unit and Method," each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This application is also filed with the following U.S. formal patent application: No. 7719-110, filed May 29, 2003, entitled "Rack Mounted Computer Component and Method of Making Same"; No. 7719-111, filed May 29, 2003, titled "Rack Mountable Computer Component Cooling Method and Device"; No. 7719-112, filed May 29, 2003, titled "Rack Mountable Computer Fan Cooling Arrangement and Method"; And No. 7719-113, filed May 29, 2003, entitled "Rack Mountable Component Power Distribution Unit and Method," each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The present invention generally relates to methods and apparatus for mounting new and improved computer components. More specifically, it relates to a method and apparatus for rack mounting computer components in a compact configuration. The invention also relates to a heat sink for an active component mounted on an upright support and a method of using the same. The invention also relates to a cooling apparatus and method for cooling a series of closely spaced upright computer components mounted to a support. The invention also relates to a method and a power distribution unit for powering a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity.

There are a variety of different types and types of methods and systems for mounting computer components. For example, reference may be made to the following U.S. patent.

United States Patent Number Inventor Patent Date

4,258, 967 Boudreau 1981-03-31

4,879, 634 Storrow et al. 1989-11-07

4,977,532 Borkowicz et al 1990-12-11

5,010, 444 Storrow et al 1991-04-23

5,216, 579 Basara et al 1993-06-01

5,460, 441 Hastings et al 1995-10-24

United States Patent Number Inventor Patent Date

5,571, 256 Good, etc. 1996 -11-05

5,684, 671 Hobbs et al 1997-11-04

5,877,938 Hobbs et al 1999-03-02

5,896, 273 Varghese et al 1999-04-30

6,025, 989 Ayd et al 2000-02-15

6,058, 025 Ecker et al 2000-05-02

6,075, 698 Hogan et al 2000-06-13

6,220, 456 B1 Jensen et al 2001-04-24

6,305, 556 B1 Mayer 2001-10-23

6,315, 249 B1 Jensen et al 2001-11-13

6, 325, 636 B1 Hipp et al 2001-12-04

Re. 35,915 Hastings et al 1998-10-06

Des. 407,358 Belanger et al 1999-03-30

As a result of the availability of many different types and types of mounting techniques, standards have been adopted for mounting computer components in racks according to specific module configurations. In this regard, computer components such as computer processor units are mounted in columns over other components in a standard size rack configuration. As specified in the Server Rack Specification (SSI), this standard is called the EIA-310-D standard.

The housing of each computer device should have dimensions of constant height in accordance with the standard. The height dimension should be a multiple of the standard unit "U". Thus, there may be a computer component that is 1 "U" in standard units or multiples thereof. Therefore, there may also be standard racks, such as 1U, 2U, 3U, 4U, etc., for mounting computer components.

Thus, according to the currently used standards, a rack is provided for accommodating computer components in a tightly spaced horizontal arrangement in tight spaces, where each computer component mounted in the rack is a dimension of a multiple of the appropriate standard unit U. The rack may be easily located in a computer room with a movably mounted air conditioner system that is movably mounted to a caster or the like, for example, to ensure proper cooling of the computer equipment.

For some applications, it is highly desirable to compact and dense the computer components in the rack. Therefore, in many applications, it was important to place as many computer components as possible in a computer room or other allocated space.

In order to compactly mount computer components in a rack at high density, one component is placed very close together in columns over the other. Data and power cables are located in the rear area or in the embossed area within the rack.

For the purpose of cooling, various techniques are employed. For example, individual fans were mounted in the housing of each computer component. The interior of the housing was often exhausted into a fan exhaust plenum chamber constructed within one side of the rack.

This conventional rack mounting system has several disadvantages. The individual fans mounted on each component are expensive and take a long time to replace in case of failure. In addition, the rear space and fan exhaust filling room is wasted space in that it occupies a space that can be charged with computer components.

In addition, for field installation, in order to assemble a rack-mounted system, each component must be installed so that it is located inside the rack, and then the cable for each unit must be connected inside the rack to the rear space of the rack. This task is time consuming and expensive because such installation requires a very skilled person. Once installed, the failed unit must be shut down to replace the failed computer component, the entire system, or at least its substantial portion, so that the failed unit can be dismounted, and the replacement unit can be installed and electrically reconnected. This is also a waste of time and expensive.

In conventional rack-mounted computer components, the cabling of the computer components is mounted in the back portion of the rack, so that key circuits such as the motherboard to facilitate attachment to the cabling at the back of the rack The board is mounted to a rear portion of the computer component housing. This configuration of the circuit board in the computer component housing is less desirable for some applications. For example, a user may want to connect test components, such as a keyboard and monitor, to one of the rack-mounted computer components, which is usually difficult to realize because access to the motherboard is located on the back of the housing. In this regard, access to certain computer components must be made at the back of the rack where a number of cables are present and thus access the computer modules in blocks. In addition, since the motherboard is mounted on the back of the component housing, it is often difficult and expensive to mount the fan and baffles directly to the front of the housing where the air enters and to evacuate from the back.

Therefore, it is highly desirable to have new and improved computer component configurations that are relatively easy for users to access individual components and that ventilation for cooling is relatively efficient and effective.

In a conventional rack mounted computer component, an intake fan was installed that sucks air into the housing through the front portion to cool the circuitry within the component housing. In addition, exhaust fans were generally mounted on the sides of the housing to exhaust heated air from the interior of the computer component housing. For cooling, heat sinks are mounted on circuit components such as microprocessor chips to help increase the release of heat therein.

Since air enters the front of the housing and out to the side of the housing therein, and the air movement path is irregular, it was difficult to place the heat sink in the air flowing path. In this regard it may be necessary to employ baffles or the like directly into the airflow through the spatially spaced fins on the heatsink.

Suction and scrap fans are employed to help cool the electronics inside the computer components. In this regard, a plurality of suction fans may generally be located in front of the component housing, and another set of fans for exhaust may generally be located on one side of the housing. If one or more fans cause a malfunction, the computer component must take out the repair or replacement service of the fan or fans that caused the replacement or malfunction of the entire computer component. This delay in system functionality is very undesirable for many applications.

Therefore, it is highly desirable to compactly mount computer components in a high density configuration in a rack mounted system. However, when so many computer components are mounted in a single rack, due to the cabling requirements, the components are difficult to install in the rack and still have a very dense configuration.

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a rack mount system employing a vertically mounted computer component in the form of a blade supporting operative components such as a circuit device. do. The blade is mounted in a series of vertically spaced bays. In each bay, vertically mounted blades are connected to each other in a strip of a power distribution unit that allows the blades to be compactly mounted. Thus, a pair of vertically mounted blade sets are attached to opposite sides of a power distribution unit in the same bay. Cooling fan units are arranged between the vertically spaced bays to provide vertical airflow throughout the system.

In accordance with at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, a rack mountable computer component in the form of an open computer component or blade structure configured to be mounted approximately upright or vertically inside a rack is disclosed. Moving parts, such as motherboards, are mounted on the front of the component or blade for user access. This moving part is cooled by a vertical airflow proportional to the blade mounted to promote cooling.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, the component structure includes a support having active components mounted on at least one side and configured to be supported in an approximately upright configuration. The front panel extends across the front edge portion of the support and the arranged outlet is connected to at least one moving part. A power inlet is mounted to the rear edge portion of the support to receive power for the moving parts.

As disclosed herein, the support includes a cut-out portion, and the power inlet is disposed near the cut-out portion. Segments are approximately rectangular in shape and are fairly rigid. As also disclosed herein, at least one moving component, such as a motherboard, is disposed near the front edge of the support and electrically connected to the outlet. As also disclosed herein, the cable is electrically connected to an outlet on the front panel to convey electrical information from the operating component.

According to the disclosed embodiment of the invention, one of the edges in the front panel is arranged at the edge of the support to form an L shape. Thus, the intersecting front panel and the support are so constructed and arranged so that similar units have a close neighboring relationship, and the resulting component structure can be arranged in approximately upright and side by side configuration. Therefore, the front panel of similar components provides a substantially continuous upright wall, and furthermore the moving part is mounted on the upright support in an open configuration. In this way the component structure can be placed in a vertical flow path of air moving past the active component mounted on this upright support.

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, a method and apparatus for mounting a heat sink for a rack mounted computer component is provided. The heatsink is suitable for mounting on a vertically mounted computer component blade, the heatsink being arranged so that vertical airflow is in sufficient contact with the fins of the heatsink for efficient and rapid cooling.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, heat sinks are employed for active components, such as microprocessors, which form part of a computer motherboard mounted on an upright support. The heatsink includes a base portion with a series of spaced fins, the fins extending to provide a relatively large surface area to dissipate heat as the cooling air flowing almost vertically passes between the fins. The base portion is mounted approximately upright, with the pins provided extending in an approximately upright position. According to at least one of the embodiments of the invention, the height ratio of the pin to the height of the base portion is greater than seven.

According to another disclosed embodiment of the present invention, the height ratio of the fin to the height of the base portion of the heat sink is between about 7.5 and about 10.45. In addition, as disclosed herein, a heat conducting slug plate is placed on the base portion and sandwiched between the base portion and the active component to be cooled.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, a method of using a heatsink to assist in cooling an active component is disclosed. The method includes mounting the support approximately upright and mounting the active component on one side of the support. The heat sink is mounted approximately upright on the active component and has spaced fins extending approximately vertically from the base portion. The slug plate is sandwiched between the base portion and the active component to be cooled.

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, an arrangement is provided for cooling a series of upright and closely arranged computer components, the apparatus comprising a tray having a plurality of air moving devices such as fans. . The members are used to assist in removably mounting the tray to the support in a substantially horizontal arrangement, with the air mover moving the air to move in an approximately vertical path to help cool the upright computer component. The tray also has a series of connector ports for electrically connecting outputs from individual computer components.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, the tray includes a front panel having connector ports arranged in rows. As disclosed herein, the front panel can be opened to allow removal of the access to the air mover or to repair or replace them. The air moving device can be removed from the support. As also disclosed herein, according to another embodiment of the present invention the air movers are arranged in separate subgroups, and selected subgroups of the air movers can be removed from the tray as a unit when the front panel is opened. .

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, the electrical cable connects with a connector port to carry a signal, the cable having a slack portion sufficient to allow the front panel to be removed in an open position while maintaining electrical connection to the connector port. ). Thus, the air mover is "hot swappable" while the computer component is in operation.

In accordance with at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a fan tray or unit configured to be hand-mounted inside a rack to facilitate the movement of air vertically through computer components. In one embodiment of the present invention, the series of fan trays are suitable for being arranged vertically spaced inside the rack. Each fan tray is suitable for removal and replacement while ensuring that computer components continue to function normally.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a method for powering a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close spaced form, the method comprising a long power distribution unit traversing the upright blade. And electrically interconnecting upstanding blades with a series of electrical connectors arranged side by side on one side of the power distribution unit. According to one embodiment of the invention, a series of second electrical connectors are arranged side by side on the opposite side of the body of the power distribution unit.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, each of the computer component blades has a similar cutout, and the body of the power distribution unit has cut-away portions of the blade to provide a compact montage arrangement. Has a complementary cross section shape that is accommodated by

According to at least one of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a power distribution unit that allows a pair of vertically mounted computer components to be mounted vertically close to one another in a back-to-back configuration. Is provided. The power distribution unit also allows the vertical component to slide easily into the rack and be electrically coupled with the power distribution unit.

Overview of the system

1, 21, 29 and 30, an embodiment of a rack mounted system 10 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments of the present invention is shown. The rack mounted system 10 generally includes a rack housing 12 that is formed as a rectangular box with a plurality of vertical bays 14. The embodiment shown in the figure includes three vertically spaced bays 14.

Each bay 14 is divided into a front bay portion 16 and a rear bay portion 18 by a horizontal transversely extending intermediate separator 1. The intermediate separator 19 is shown most clearly in FIG. 7. The bays 14 are formed one above the other in the rack housing 12. At the bottom of the rack housing 12, as will be described in detail below, the control bay 21 is provided to accommodate various controlled components.

The rack housing 12 also includes a fan / LAN tray slot 23 above each bay 14.

The embodiment shown in the figure shows a control bay having a lower opening 25 (FIG. 7) that promotes the airflow to receive a vertically moving airflow from the vent opening 26 in the floor 28. 21) (Figure 7). At the top of the rack housing 12 is an open top panel 26 that is capable of evacuating airflow moving vertically from the system 10.

As best seen in FIGS. 1, 5, 6, and 8, a power distribution unit (power distribution unit) is provided in the middle region between the front bay portion 16 and the rear bay portion 18, above each bay 14. Distribution units (PDUs) are installed to power the various components mounted in rack-mounted systems. Each bay is suitable for receiving a plurality of computer components in each front bay portion 16 and back bay portion 18 in the form of an open structure computer component or blade such as blade 32 of FIG. 1. In the embodiment illustrated in the figure, eleven blades may be accommodated in approximately front dispositions in each front bay and rear bay portion. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 accommodates 66 computer components in a dense and compact, closely spaced form (close spaced form).

Lower control bay 21 is suitable for receiving various control components. These control components may include a circuit breaker junction box 34, as most clearly shown in FIG. Circuit breaker junction box 34 is electrically connected to each PDU. As shown in FIG. 4, a switch module 36 is also installed in the control bay 21. The switch module 36 communicates between various blades such as the blade 32 and networks such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a public network such as the Internet. It is suitable to control. The control bay 21 also facilitates the intake of air through the inlet opening 25 and the air intake fan module 38 which promotes vertical airflow through the blades and bays 14 and out to the open top panel 26. (FIGS. 1 and 5).

The embodiment of the rack system 10 illustrated in the figure shows four casters 41 supporting the system rollably on the floor 26 to facilitate the transport of the rack system 10. It includes. Other embodiments of the rack system according to the present invention may be mounted on the floor, and thus may include legs or skids instead of casters for mounting directly to the floor.

Pan/ LAN  tray

8 and 9, the installation of the fan / LAN tray 27 and the rack housing 12 in more detail will be described. 9 shows one embodiment of a fan / LAN tray 27 for mounting to a suitable support, such as the rack system 10 illustrated in the figures. The fan / LAN tray 27 includes eight suitable air movers, such as fans, to facilitate vertical airflow. Although the embodiment illustrated in the figures includes eight fans per tray, such as fan 43 (FIG. 9), any suitable number of fans may be used.

At the front of the fan / LAN tray 27, a series of LAN connector ports 45 (FIGS. 1 and 9) are installed. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9, each fan / LAN tray 27 includes twelve LAN connector ports 45, the last of which can be used to understand the test. Although twelve LAN connectors are shown in the disclosed embodiment, any number of connectors may be used for certain applications.

Internal wiring leads (not shown) from each LAN connector port 45 are shown in the two signal connectors 47 (FIG. 9) in the back portion of the fan / LAN tray 27. FIG. Extends to one. In one embodiment, each signal connector 47 is a 50 pin signal connector and is electrically connected to the switch module 36. Each fan / LAN tray also includes an AC power inlet 49 for powering the fan at the rear. As described in more detail below, power may be supplied to fans such as fan 43 from the PDU 29 via the AC power inlet 49 at installation.

To help install the fan / LAN tray 27 in the fan / LAN tray slot 23 of the rack housing 12, guides 52 on the sides of each fan / LAN tray 27 as shown in FIG. ) Can be installed. During the installation process, the guide, preferably a nylon guide, can engage with the corresponding member on the side of the fan / LAN tray slot 23 to assist in the support of the fan / LAN tray. In addition, a locking mechanism may be installed together with the guide 52 in order to securely fix the fan / LAN tray 27 in the fan / LAN tray slot 23. Once installed, each fan / LAN tray 27 occupies an area just above either the front bay 16 or the rear bay 18. Thus, the fan / LAN tray at the front and the fan / LAN tray at the back can completely cover each bay 14 level. Thus, as shown most clearly in FIG. 10, according to one embodiment of the present invention, in addition to all six fans / LAN trays 27, the air intake fan module 38 has a three bay level rack mounted system 10. Can be installed on

9A and 9B, in accordance with another of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention, the same fan / LAN tray 42 as the fan / LAN tray 27 is provided with a plurality of individual trays or tray portions 44. It can be divided into the same tray portions, each of which can be removed independently so that the remaining tray portion or portions can continue to function. In this regard, the LAN connection is planned to be separate from the fan tray or tray portions so that the tray portions can be removed independently of the LAN component.

The fan tray 42 is a generally rectangular flat hollow frame 46 having a series of guides, such as a guide 68 that assists in mounting the fan tray 42 to a suitable support (not shown). It may include the same as the rack housing 12 of FIG. The frame 46 includes a front opening 48 (FIG. 9B) that receives an individual tray portion, such as the tray portion 44. The removable front panel 51 is assembled over the opening 48 and secured in place by any suitable technique, such as using fastening devices (not shown). A series of connector ports, such as connector port 53, is mounted to the front panel 51 and electrically connected to a signal connector (not shown), which may be the same as the signal connector 47 of FIG. In this regard, a cable, such as cable 55, is individually connected to a connector porter, such as connector porter 53. In order to be able to remove the front panel 51, a cable, such as cable 55, may be provided from the front panel (frame 46) from the frame 46, while maintaining an intact electrical connection to the computer components for normal operation of the system. And a slack portion, such as cable slack portion 57, to allow removal of 51. In this regard, individual fan tray portions can be removed for repair or replacement, and the remaining fan tray portions can function independently to promote cooling while leaving the computer configuration in normal operation.

Looking at the tray portion 44 in more detail, of course, all tray portions may be identical to one another. The tray portion 44 includes a front flange 59 so as to be easy for the user to pull out from the inside of the frame 46, as shown in FIG. 9B. The fan tray portion is identical to the power inlet 49 of FIG. 9 for coupling to a pair of air movers, such as the fan 70, and a power outlet 60 on the power distribution device 62 to supply voltage to the fan. A power inlet (not shown). In this way, the tray portion 44 can be pulled out of the frame 46 only by releasing the coupling from the power outlet 60. Another similar fan tray portion is then inserted into the appropriate place to connect with the power outlet 60, and the front panel 51 can then be put in place over the opening 48.

Thus, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a group of air movers can be arranged in the tray portion of a subgroup, so that some but not all of the air movers can be removed without interrupting the operation of the remaining devices. will be. It should be noted that the subgroup may be one or more air moving devices. In addition, individual tray portions, such as the tray portion 44, may be located behind the front panel 51, and a similar set of tray portions (not shown) may be installed in the rear portion of the frame 46 and the power distribution unit 62 Note that they can be interconnected. The rear panel (not shown) is removable and is the same as the front panel 51 and is used for the same purpose.

Computer component structure

Referring now to FIGS. 11, 25 and 26, the computer components or blades 32 and their installation in the rack housing 12 will be described in more detail. Each blade has a pair of handles 54 protruding from the front face of the front panel. The front panel extends across the rigid upright support or plate and is connected in an L-shaped configuration to the front edge of the support. The handle allows the user to easily manipulate the blade 32 to be held by the user to slide the blade into or out of the bay.

Each blade 32 may include one or more motherboards 56. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, each blade 32 includes two motherboards 26a, 26b. Those skilled in the art will understand that the number of motherboards included in each blade 32 may vary depending on the design. The motherboard may include heat sinks such as heat sinks 58 and 59 to facilitate cooling of the motherboard. Each motherboard also has a random access memory (RAM) 61. The capacity of the RAM 61 provided in each motherboard can be changed as necessary. A pair of power supplies 63a, 63b may be installed on the blade 32 to power the corresponding motherboards 56a, 56b. Similarly, a pair of hard disks 64a and 64b may also be installed on the blade 32.

All components are mounted on one side of the rigid plate or support 64 which is configured to be supported vertically in the bay. Each blade 32 includes a cutout corner portion or section 65 in an upper back portion. The cutout portion 65 is sized to receive and accommodate the PDU 29, so as to receive the PDU 29 almost completely between the two opposing blades 32, 32a (as shown in FIG. 6). Thus, substantially zero footprint is achieved for the PDU 29. Each blade 32 has an AC power inlet, such as an inlet 67, at or near the cutout 65. Thus, when the blade 32 is installed in the rack housing 12, the AC power inlet 67 electrically couples with a corresponding AC connector, such as the connector 76 (FIG. 17) of the PDU 29.

As most clearly shown in FIG. 17, the installation of the blade 32 can be accomplished quickly and effectively. The blade 32 simply slides into the front bay portion 16 or the rear bay portion 18 of the rack housing 12. Each blade 32 slides back until the AC power inlet 67 engages with the corresponding AC connector 76 on the PDU 29. The intermediate separator 19 is used as a back stop of the blade 32. Each blade 32 is secured in a slot by four blade screws 69 that attach the blade 32 to the rack housing 12.

Once the blade 32 is mounted on the rack housing 12, a short blade / LAN connector cable, such as cable 45 (FIG. 12) or cable 71 (FIG. 1), connects the blade 32 with a LAN, WAN. Or provide electrical networking connections between networks, such as public networks, such as the Internet. In this regard, the motherboards are each mounted on the front of each blade and are therefore easily accessible from the front out, such as outlet 73 (FIG. 12). Thus, the data connection can be made to the outlet 73 via the short cable 45 coupled with the switch module 38, the inlet 77 of the PDU 29.

Power distribution unit

17 to 20, the power distribution device 29 will be described in more detail. The power distribution device 29 supplies power to a series of upright computer components or blade racks mounted side by side in close proximity. As best shown in FIG. 26, each blade, such as blades 32 and 32a, has a cutout or section 65 for receiving the PDU 29 at its upper rear. In this regard, the cutout portion 75 is a shape complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the PUD 29. The PDU 29 is approximately rectangular and the cross-sectional cutout corner 65 is approximately L-shaped to compactly accommodate the opposing sides of the PDU 29. Thus, a blade such as blades 32 and 32a can be fitted in the PDU 29 very compactly without the need for having a back plane for receiving individual cables.

The PDU 29 supplies power from the external power source to the various blades 32 and the fan / LAN tray 27 through the circuit breaker junction box 34. Each PDU 29 preferably comprises an elongated PDU body portion 74 consisting of two parts, eighteen gauge steel chassis. Each of the two sides of the PDU body portion 74 includes a series of female AC electrical connectors 76. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 17-20, each side has twelve female AC electrical connectors 76. The twelve connectors 76 correspond to eleven blades and fan / LAN trays 27 mounted in the front bay portion 16 and the rear bay portion 18 of the em bay 14. The 12th connector is for the power outlet on the front of the fan tray.

Thus, twelve female AC electrical connectors 76 are installed on the front and back of the PDU body 74, respectively. Each set of twelve female AC electrical connectors 76 is powered through a pair of power cables 72. In one embodiment, the power cable 72 is a 15 amp power cable that relaxes tension near the junction with the PDU body 74. As described below, the power cable 72 is connected to the circuit breaker junction box 34 of the control bay 21. The PDU body portion 74 may also include a series of mounting studs 78 for installing the PDU body portion 74 to the rack housing 12.

13 to 16, the details of the connection of various power and LAN cables will be described. As most clearly shown in FIG. 13,

At each bay level, power cable 72 from PDU 29 runs along rack housing 12.

The lower portion is electrically connected to the front portion of the rack housing 12 and the circuit breaker junction box 34. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in the figure, six power cables 72 are connected to the circuit breaker junction box 34 because they are each two from three PDUs. The cable sets, indicated at 80, are each suitable for coupling to a suitable AC power source for powering the system 10.

As shown in FIG. 13, a set of six LAN cables 81 from a fan / LAN tray and a PDU are connected to the switch module 36 along the rear right side of the rack housing 12. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, two LAN cables 81 extending from each PDU are in turn electrically connected to a pair of fifty pin signal connectors 47. These six cables 81 thus follow the right side of the rack housing 12. Likewise, as most clearly shown in FIG. 15, six LAN cables 81 extend from the fan / LAN tray 27 and the PDU along the left front side of the rack housing 12. These six cables 81 are also connected to the switch module 36 at the bottom.

Once the rack system 10 with all fans / LAN trays 27, PDUs 29 and blades 32 in place is fully assembled, an efficient rack-mounted system is provided that is fully assembled. In such a system, networking of the various components installed in the blade 32 is also effectively performed. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, eleven blades are housed in the front bay portion 16 and the rear bay portion 18 of each bay 14, respectively. Thus, 66 such blades 32 may be accommodated in the illustrated embodiment. However, some slots may be occupied by a blade, such as a master computer component or a master blade, indicated at 32 in FIGS. 4 and 6. In the illustrated embodiment, two master blades 32A are installed at the bottom of the three blade bays just above the switch module 36. The master blade 32a is directly electrically connected to the switch module 36 through a high speed connection (not shown) such as an optical fiber connection. The master blade controls the switch module 36 to switch communication between the various slave blades 32 and the master blade. Thus, 64 slave blades can be accommodated by the system of the illustrated embodiment. Each of the 64 slave blades may be, for example, hot swappable during the operation of replacing the blade 32 without powering down the system 10.

Each fan / LAN tray 27 has twelve LAN connector ports, such as port 45 (FIG. 1). Eleven of the twelve LAN connector ports 45 are suitable for enabling communication between the various slave blades 32 and the switch module 36. The twelfth LAN connector port 45 allows an external user to connect an external device such as a laptop computer to the network. In addition, each fan / LAN tray 27 has a centrally arranged AC power outlet for connecting such external devices.

According to the disclosed embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 21, the system 10 shown in the figures provides sufficient airflow to maintain the cool operating temperature of the various components mounted to the blade 32. do. Airflow is delivered from the lower opening 25 by an air intake fan module 38 located in the control bay 21.

The air intake fan module 38 directs airflow vertically through each open structure blade 32 to each bay 14. Airflow is also promoted by the fan 43 of each fan / LAN tray 27 to move the air in a upwardly moving path. Airflow is directed out of the rack housing 12 through the opening top panel 26.

21-24 show a further embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 21-24, the intake and discharge of airflow can be varied to accommodate various forms of availability of the air supply in the current environment. For example, as described in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 through 21, in FIG. 22, the air intake fan module 38a draws in air from the lower opening 25a. The airflow moves in the vertical direction with the aid of the fan 43a mounted on the fan / LAN tray. However, unlike the embodiment described above, in the embodiment shown in Fig. 22, the direction of the vertical movement from the vertical movement path to the horizontal movement path outside the rack system 10a is turned to the rear of the rack housing. The airflow hood 85a promotes a change in direction of the rear of the airflow.

Figure 23 shows another embodiment of a rack system according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the air intake fan module 38b draws the air inwardly horizontally through the opening as defined by the perforated plate 87b in the bottom front portion of the rack housing. The airflow is then redirected upward with the aid of the fan 43b mounted on the fan / LAN tray. The airflow is directed out of the top of the rack system 10b vertically.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 24, the air intake fan module 38c draws air horizontally through the opening as defined by the perforated plate 87c of the bottom front portion of the rack housing. The airflow is redirected vertically through this system with the help of the fan 43c. Airflow is redirected from the right corner to a horizontal path of travel out of the rack system 10a from the top of the rack housing to the rear of the rack housing.

The change of direction of the airflow backward is promoted by the airflow hood 85a. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other variations to the intake and discharge of airflow are possible in accordance with other embodiments of the present invention.

Heatsink  structure

 27-29, a heatsink 58 that is a passive heatsink and configured to attach to circuit components such as a microprocessor (not shown) of the motherboard 56a (FIG. 6) to dissipate unnecessary heat. It is shown in great detail. When mounted to the motherboard, the preferred orientation of the heat sink 58 is shown in FIG. Heatsink 58 generally consists of an aluminum alloy 6063-T5 or other suitable metal material, and includes a series of fins, such as fin 101, extending from base portion 102 therebetween. It provides a relatively large surface area to dissipate heat as the nearly vertical airflow passes. Heat sink 58 may be injection molded. The heat sink 58 comprises a base or slug plate 103 made of a suitable metal material such as copper and rests on the base portion 102, and the part to be protected by a suitable technique such as soldering. Suitable for attaching to The metal slug plate 103 conducts away from the component to protect the heat and allows heat to be released through the fins as the vertical airflow passes between the straight fins.

Fins, such as fin 101, extend vertically when heat sinks 58 are mounted to the moving parts, as shown in FIG. These pins are spaced approximately equally apart.

For preferred operation, the heat sink 58 in the embodiment of the present invention has a certain critical dimension. In this regard, the heat sink 58 is approximately block shaped with an approximately rectangular cross section. In one preferred application, the overall dimensions of the heatsink are comprised between about 64.237 mm and about 68.580 mm in width, between about 81.331 mm and about 95.606 mm in length, and between about 24.765 mm and about 32.258 mm in height. . The overall height dimension includes the height of the slug plate 103. In a preferred application the height of the slug plate is about 3.175 mm. The height of the pins is preferably between about 19.05 mm and about 26.543 mm, and the spacing between the pins is preferably between about 2.311 mm and about 2.362 mm. Preferably, the base portion 103 has a thickness of about 2.540 mm.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is important to have a long fin relative to the overall height of the heat sink. This provides sufficient cooling airflow. Therefore, no fan is required at or near the heat sink. Air flow through the blades passes vertically upwards between the fins, such as heat sink 58 and fins 101 that hardly interfere with airflow.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ratio of the height of the pin, such as the pin 101, to the height of the base, such as the base portion 102, is preferably greater than 7, more preferably between about 7.5 and about 10.45. I knew that. These preferred ratios have been demonstrated that the desired cooling effect can be obtained when a heatsink with vertically extending fins is mounted as shown in FIG.

The heatsink is arranged vertically and secured in place by a series of fastening devices, such as fastening device 105 in the form of bolts or screws. In this way, pins such as pins 101 are disposed approximately vertically and extend to interact with the vertical airflow.

30-32, other heatsinks are shown which are almost identical to heatsinks 58 except for attachment means. Heatsink 107 includes a series of spaced fins, such as fin 109 that promote heat dissipation. Heatsink 107 includes a base or slug 112 that is generally identical to slug 101 and is preferably made of a metallic material, such as copper.

The heat sink 107 is suitable for attachment to a moving part to be protected, such as a microprocess, by a suitable attachment device such as a clip 113 that engages a centrally located space 114 between groups of fins.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it is understood that various modifications and combinations are possible and should be contemplated within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the summary and the content disclosed herein are not limited.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a rack-mounted system and a method of cooling a rack-mounted component employing a vertically mounted computer component in a blade shape for supporting operating components such as circuit elements.

In addition, according to the present invention, a heat sink for an active component such as a microprocessor constituting a part of a computer motherboard mounted on an upright support and a method of using the same may be provided to help cooling the active component.

The present invention can also provide an apparatus and method for cooling a series of computer components that are upright and in close proximity, including a tray having a plurality of air moving devices, such as a fan.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and a power distribution unit for supplying power to a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close spaced form.

Claims (12)

A method of powering a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity, Extending a long power distribution unit transverse to the upright blade, Individually electrically interconnecting a series of electrical connectors arranged side by side on the upright blade and one side of the power distribution unit, and Supplying voltage to the blade by supplying power to the connector Power supply method comprising a. The method of claim 1, And electrically interconnecting a second set of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity to a second row of electrical connectors arranged side by side on an opposite side of the power distribution unit. The method of claim 2, Powering the second electrical connector row to supply voltage to the second set of blades. A power distribution unit for powering a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity, A body extending transverse to the upstanding blade and having a series of electrical connectors arranged side by side on one side, Means for electrically individual interconnecting said upstanding blade and said electrical connector, and Means for supplying voltage to the blade by powering the connector Power distribution unit comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein And means for electrically individual interconnecting second upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity. The method of claim 5, And said means for electrically interconnecting individually comprises a second row of electrical connectors arranged side by side on one side of said body portion. The method of claim 6, And means for supplying power to the second electrical connector row to supply a voltage to the second set of blades. A power distribution unit for powering a series of upright computer blades mounted side by side in close proximity, A long body with a series of electrical connectors arranged side by side on one side, Mounting studs for mounting the body portion transversely to the upright computer component such that each of the blades is electrically connected to the electrical connector, and A cable for powering the connector Power distribution unit comprising a. The method of claim 8, The blades each have the same cutout portion, And the body portion has a complementary cross-sectional shape received by the cutaway portion of the blade to provide a compact mounting device. The method of claim 9, And a second row of electrical connectors arranged side by side on the opposite side of the body portion. The method of claim 10, And a second cable for supplying power to the second set of electrical connectors to supply voltage to the second set of blades. The method of claim 10, The second blade set each has the same cutout portion, And the body portion has a complementary cross-sectional shape received by the cutout portion of the second blade set such that the blade and the second blade set can be mounted back to back in a compact form.

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