TWM617372U - Computer system and electronic assembly thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosure relate to active cooling devices for cooling an electronic assembly positioned downstream in a computing system. In one embodiment, an electronic assembly positioned downstream of the computing system is disclosed. The electronic assembly includes a printed circuit board electrically connected to the computing system; an air duct disposed over the printed circuit board; and an active cooling device thermally coupled to the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board includes a transceiver socket configured to receive at least one optical transceiver and one or more heat-generating components disposed thereon. The at least one optical transceiver is configured to mate with an active optical cable.

Description

Computer system and its electronic components

This creation is about cooling devices for electronic equipment, and in particular about active cooling devices for cooling electronic components located downstream of a computer system.

A computer system, such as a server, includes electronic components connected to a power supply unit. Electronic components usually include a controller, a processor, a network card, a hard disk drive, and a solid state disk drive. Due to the operation of electronic components, the server generates a lot of heat. Overheating due to inefficient heat dissipation may shut down or hinder the operation of electronic components.

For example, the Open Compute Project 3.0 module (hereinafter referred to as "OCP module") in the server consumes a lot of power and generates a lot of heat. When the OCP module is located downstream of the power supply unit, it will be heated by nearby electronic components. The airflow through the OCP module is also reduced. Even using traditional passive cooling solutions (such as air ducts and baffles) can cause performance degradation. Therefore, it is desirable to incorporate a better cooling solution to ensure the dissipation of the generated heat so that the performance of the server is not affected.

The terms embodiment and similar terms are intended to broadly refer to all the subjects of this disclosure and the following claims. It should be understood that statements containing these terms should not limit the subject matter herein or limit the meaning or scope of the following claims. The embodiments of the present disclosure covered herein are defined by the scope of the following patent applications rather than the creation content. This new content is a high-level overview of various aspects of the present disclosure, and introduces some concepts, which are further described in the detailed description section below. This new content is not intended to determine the key or essential features of the claimed subject matter; nor should it be used alone to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by referring to the entire specification of the present disclosure, any or all drawings, and appropriate parts of each claim.

In one embodiment, an electronic component located downstream of a computer system is disclosed. The electronic component includes: a printed circuit board electrically connected to the computer system; an air duct arranged on the printed circuit board; and an active cooling device thermally coupled to the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board includes a transceiver slot, and the transceiver slot receives at least one optical transceiver and one or more heat-generating components arranged on it. At least one optical transceiver is matched with an active optical cable.

In another embodiment, a computer system is disclosed. The computer system includes: a plurality of fans configured to drive the airflow downstream of the computer system; and electronic components located downstream of the computer system. The electronic component includes a printed circuit board electrically connected to the computer system; an air duct arranged on the printed circuit board; and an active cooling device thermally coupled to the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board includes a transceiver slot, The transceiver slot receives at least one optical transceiver and one or more heat-generating components arranged thereon. At least one optical transceiver is matched with an active optical cable.

The above new content is not intended to represent each embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure. Rather, the foregoing novel content only provides examples of some of the novel aspects and features set forth herein. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims, the above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of representative embodiments and ways for implementing the present creation.

In order to have a better understanding of the above-mentioned and other aspects of this creation, the following examples are specially cited, and the accompanying drawings are described in detail as follows:

100: computer system

105: electronic components

110: Motherboard

120: Fan

132: Processor

134: Storage Equipment

135: baseboard management controller

136: power supply unit

138: Chassis Management Controller

140: Air duct

150: Active cooling device

160: optical transceiver

265: Transceiver slot

270: Heating parts

275: radiator

280: printed circuit board

340: Upstream part

341: Upstream open end

342: Part One

342a: Flat top surface

344: Part Two

343a, 343b: first side wall

344a: Inclined surface

345a, 345b: second side wall

346: Downstream part

346a: Flat top surface

347a, 347b: upright edge

348: Horizontal Edge

349: downstream open end

352: Power and control cables

354a, 354b: fasteners

356: hole

400: method

500: method

h1, h2: height

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a computer system with electronic components according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein; Figure 2 is a close-up perspective view of a downstream part of the computer system according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein, It shows an electronic component and an active cooling device arranged on it; FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the active cooling device according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein, and the electronic component arranged in the downstream part of the computer system Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a method for controlling the active cooling device of Figure 2 and Figure 3 according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein, which uses a baseboard management controller (BMC) provided in a computer system ); and Figure 5 illustrates the control thermal coupling according to one or more embodiments disclosed herein To the block diagram of the method of the active cooling device of the network interface controller (NIC) expansion card in the computer system shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the drawings, in which like reference numerals are used in all the drawings to denote similar or equivalent elements. These drawings are not drawn to scale, and the drawings are only used to illustrate the creation. The following describes several aspects of this creation with reference to exemplary applications for illustration. It should be understood that many of the specific details, relationships and methods described are intended to provide a complete understanding. However, those with ordinary knowledge in related fields will soon realize that various embodiments can be practiced without one or more specific details or by other methods. In other cases, well-known structures or operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects of the various embodiments. The various embodiments are not limited by the ordering of the actions or events shown, as some actions may occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other actions or events.

For example, elements and limitations disclosed in the new abstract, new content and specific implementations but not explicitly stated in the claim shall not be incorporated into the claim individually or collectively by implication, inference or other means. For the purpose of this detailed description, unless specifically stated otherwise, the singular includes the plural, and vice versa. The word "including" means "including but not limited to". In addition, approximate words, such as "about", "almost", "substantially", "approximately", etc., may be used herein, for example, to mean "at", "close to", "close to", or "at 3 -5%", or "within acceptable manufacturing tolerance", or any logical combination thereof.

With regard to this disclosure, the term "computer equipment" or "computer system" or "computer system" or "computer" refers to any electronic or battery-powered device with hardware, software, and/or firmware, in which software and / Or the firmware is configured as an operating function on the device.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to active cooling devices for cooling electronic components located downstream of a computer system. The active cooling device is thermally coupled to the OCP module to remove the heat generated by the electronic components in the electronic assembly and dissipate the removed heat to the environment outside the OCP module. The active cooling device can be installed on an air duct. The air duct is arranged in the OCP module and is arranged to guide the airflow to the downstream of the OCP module.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the computer system 100 with electronic components 105, and FIG. 2 is a close-up perspective view of the downstream portion of the computer system 100. The computer system 100 can be any computer equipment, such as, but not limited to, a high-performance computing server, an electronic storage device in a data center, an edge server for telecommunications, an optical switch, and an optical router. In some embodiments, the electronic component 105 is an OCP module, while in other embodiments, the electronic component 105 may be any electronic module that generates a large amount of heat during the operation of the computer system 100. The computer system 100 includes a motherboard 110. One or more processors 132, storage devices 134, one or more power supply units 136, a chassis management controller (CMC) 138 and other electronic components are provided on the motherboard 110. A plurality of fans 120 located upstream of the electronic components cool the electronic components and drive the airflow to the electrical components downstream of the computer system 100. Sub-component 105. The chassis management controller 138 controls the output from the power supply unit (not shown) of the computer system 100 and the plurality of fans 120.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 2, the electronic component 105 is located downstream of the electronic components in the computer system 100 and is adjacent to a baseboard management controller (BMC) 135. The BMC135 regularly monitors power data and other support for the electronic components of the computer system 100, ranging from once per second to once every 60 seconds, but can be reduced. In some embodiments, the monitoring rate of the BMC 135 may depend on temperature and/or power data associated with the electronic components of the computer system 100.

The electronic component 105 includes a printed circuit board (PCB) 280 electrically connected to the computer system 100. The PCB 280 is arranged in the PCB bracket 285. In some embodiments, the PCB 280 is an expansion card in a network interface controller (NIC) OCP module, a Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) circuit card, or an OCP 3.0 circuit card in an OCP module ( Hereinafter referred to as "OCP card"). In other embodiments, the PCB 280 is any printed circuit board on which many electronic components are disposed.

The PCB 280 includes a transceiver socket 265 provided thereon. The transceiver socket 265 is electrically connected to the motherboard 110 of the computer system 100 through electrical sockets 290. The separate transceiver slot 265 is configured to receive an optical transceiver 160. In the embodiment of Figures 1 to 2, there are two optical transceivers 160, but any number of optical transceivers can be used. The optical transceiver 160 is removed from the electronic assembly 105 through the transceiver slot 265 Protruding outward. The single optical transceiver 160 is matched with an active optical cable, which is used to carry the optical signals sent and received to the electronic components on the electronic assembly 105.

One or more heat generating components 270 are provided on the PCB 280. In some embodiments, the heating component 270 is an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), which is used to perform desired functions, such as but not limited to performing signal exchange with the optical transceiver 160. In some embodiments, the heating component 270 has an embedded temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the heating component 270, the optical transceiver 160, and/or the PCB 280. In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the heat-generating component 270 is thermally bonded and disposed in the heat sink 275.

The active cooling device 150 is thermally coupled to the electronic component 105 and used to remove heat and cool the electronic component 105. Referring to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 2, the active cooling device 150 is mechanically fixed to the PCB 280 of the electronic component via an air duct 140 provided on the PCB 280, and the air duct 140 is used to drive the airflow above the downstream electronic component 105. Figure 3 describes the air duct 140 in further detail. In the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 2, the active cooling device 150 is a blower fan. However, in other embodiments, the active cooling device 150 may be a liquid cooling system, a semiconductor cooling chip, or a heat pipe. Through the BMC 135 adjacent to the electronic component 105 in the computer system 100, the active cooling device 150 can be operatively controlled.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the active cooling device 150 coupled to the electronic component 105 provided in the downstream portion of the computer system 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the air duct 140 is disposed above the electronic component 105 and covers the transceiver socket 265 and the heat-generating components in the heat sink 275 packaged on the PCB 280. The air duct 140 has an upstream Open end 341 and downstream open end 349. The air duct 140 has an upstream portion 340 at the upstream open end 341 and a downstream portion 346 at the downstream open end 349.

The upstream portion 340 includes a first portion 342, a second portion 344, and first side walls 343a and 343b on either side of the upstream portion 340. The first part 342 has a flat top surface 342a at a height h1 from the PCB 280. The second portion 344 has an inclined surface 344a that connects the top surface 342a of the first portion 342 and the flat top surface 346a of the downstream portion 346 at a height h2 from the PCB 280, where h1 is greater than h2. The flat top surface 346a of the downstream portion 346 terminates in the form of a horizontal edge 348 at the downstream open end 349. In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 3, the horizontal edge 348 is curved into a semicircle. The downstream portion 346 includes second side walls 345a and 345b, and the downstream portion 346 has upright edges 347a and 347b at the downstream open end 349 along the second side walls 345a and 345b. The air flow enters the upstream section 340 from the computer system 100 at the upstream open end 341 and is directed to the downstream open end 349 and leaves the downstream section 346. The inclined surface 344a in the upstream portion 340 enables the airflow to transition from the upstream open end 341 of the air duct 140 to the downstream open end 349, thereby taking away part of the heat generated by the electronic component 105 to be radiated to the surrounding external environment.

The active cooling device 150 is electrically connected to the main board 110 via a power and control cable 352 (Figures 1 to 2). As shown in Figure 3, the active cooling device 150 has one or more holes 356 overlapped thereon. The active cooling device 150 can be coupled to the PCB 280 through the holes 356 using fasteners 354a, 354b. In some embodiments, multiple active cooling devices 150 may be coupled to PCB 280. In the embodiment where the active cooling device 150 is a blower fan, each different blower fan may have different With the same fan speed, these fan speeds can or cannot be controlled individually. This can achieve more targeted heat dissipation and related power settings.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a method 400 for controlling the active cooling device 150 shown in FIGS. 2 to 3, which uses the BMC 135 in the computer system 100. In step 410, the computer system 100 is started. Subsequently, in step 420, the BMC 135 is connected to the electronic component 105 and information about the electronic component 105 is obtained. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the BMC 135 is associated with the electronic component 105. The electronic component 105 is an OCP module. The BMC 135 is thermally coupled to one or more heating components 270 and/or temperature sensors (not shown) of the PCB 280 to receive temperature information about the one or more heating components 270 and the optical transceiver 160.

In step 430, the BMC 135 monitors temperature changes of the one or more heating components 270 and the optical transceiver 160 at fixed time intervals. In some embodiments, the fixed time interval may be about 10 seconds or about 20 seconds. The BMC 135 reaches the decision point 440 according to the input temperature value of the one or more heating components 270 and the optical transceiver 160. At decision point 440, if the temperature of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160 is lower than 10°C which reaches the maximum operating temperature defined in the specifications of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160, the BMC 135 moves to step 445, where it is decided to increase the speed of the blower in the active cooling device 150.

On the other hand, at decision point 440, if the temperature of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160 is higher than 10°C which reaches the maximum operating temperature defined in the specifications of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160 When the time, BMC 135 moves to decision point 450.

At decision point 450, if the temperature of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160 is lower than 20°C which reaches the maximum operating temperature defined in the specifications of one or more heating components 270 and optical transceiver 160, BMC 135 moves to step 455. In step 455, it is determined to reduce the speed of the blower in the active cooling device 150. If the temperature of the one or more heating components 270 and the optical transceiver 160 is higher than 20°C which reaches the maximum operating temperature defined in the specifications of the one or more heating components 270 and the optical transceiver 160, the BMC 135 moves to step 460, The current speed of the blower fan maintained in the active cooling device 150 is determined. The process of adjusting the speed of the blower fan in the active cooling device 150 is kept repeated through the operation of the computer system 100.

Figure 5 shows a block diagram of a method 500 for controlling an active cooling device thermally coupled to a network interface controller (NIC) expansion card in a computer system. For example, as shown in Figures 2 to 3, at step 510, the controller uses A fixed time interval (for example, about 10 seconds or 20 seconds) receives temperature information of one or more heat-generating components arranged on the electronic component. The one or more heat-generating components may include: application-specific integrated circuits; one or more transceivers; printed circuit boards on which the heat-generating components are provided, and the like. The temperature information is detected by a temperature sensor thermally coupled to one or more heating components and/or a printed circuit board. The controller may include any suitable firmware or software that allows the functions of the method 500. As an example, as described above, the controller may be a baseboard management controller in a computer server.

At step 520, the controller receives one or more functional parameters of the active cooling device thermally coupled to the electronic component during a fixed time interval. The active cooling device can be a blower, a liquid cooling system, a semiconductor cooling wafer, or a heat pipe. exist In the embodiment where the active cooling device is a blower, the one or more functional parameters are the speed of the fan in the blower.

At step 530, the controller adjusts one or more functional parameters of the active cooling device in response to a predetermined temperature difference between the operating temperature information and the temperature information of the one or more heat-generating components received from step 510. The operating temperature information of the one or more heating components may include the maximum operating temperature as defined in the specifications of the one or more heating components. The predetermined temperature difference between the operating temperature information of the one or more heating components and the received temperature information may be about 10°C or about 20°C.

The method 400 and the method 500 are exemplary machine-readable instructions including an algorithm executed by a controller such as the BMC 135. The algorithm is embodied in software and stored in physical media such as CD-ROMs, magnetic disks, hard disk drives, digital audio-visual (multi-function) compact discs (DVD) or other storage devices. However, those with ordinary knowledge in the art will readily recognize that the entire algorithm and/or part of it can alternatively be executed by a device other than the processor and/or embodied in firmware or dedicated hardware in a well-known manner (for example, It can be through application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), programmable logic device (PLD), field programmable logic device (FPLD), field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) ), discrete logic, etc.). For example, any or all interface components can be implemented by software, hardware, and/or firmware. Moreover, some or all of the machine-readable instructions represented by the methods 400 and 500 in FIGS. 4 to 5 may also be implemented manually. In addition, although the example algorithm is described with reference to the methods 400 and 500 shown in FIGS. 4 to 5. Book Those of ordinary knowledge in the field will readily recognize that many other methods of implementing the exemplary machine-readable instructions could alternatively be used.

Embodiments of active cooling devices for cooling electronic components located downstream of a computer system can be advantageously used to remove heat generated by one or more heat generating components, transceivers, printed circuit boards, and other electronic components on the electronic components. This helps promote effective heat transfer from electronic components (such as OCP modules), thereby saving power and improving performance during computer system operation.

As used in this case, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. usually refer to computer-related entities, or hardware (for example, circuits), a combination of hardware and/or software, software, Or an entity related to an operating machine with one or more specific functions. For example, the component may be, but is not limited to, a process, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and/or a computer running on a processor (for example, a digital signal processor). As an illustration, both applications running on the controller and the controller can be components. One or more components can stay in the process and/or execution thread, and the components can be located on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, "equipment" can take the form of specially designed hardware; specialize general-purpose hardware through the execution of software on general-purpose hardware so that the hardware can perform specific functions; software stored on computer-readable media; Or a combination.

Although various embodiments of the present creation have been described above, it should be understood that they are only shown by way of example and not limitation. Although the creation has been disclosed with respect to one or more embodiments, after reading and understanding the specification and drawings of this case, other skilled in the art will know that equivalent changes and modifications can be made. pregnancy. In addition, although specific features related to the creation in several embodiments may have been disclosed, it may be desirable and advantageous according to any defined or specific application. This feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments. Feature combination. Therefore, the breadth and scope of this creation should not be limited by any of the above-mentioned embodiments. Rather, the scope of this creation should be defined in accordance with the scope of the attached patent application and its equivalents.

The terms used here are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not used to limit the creation. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, in the detailed description and/or claims, the terms "include", "include", "have", "have", "have" or their variants are used. These terms are intended to be similar to the term "includes". The way is included.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used in this article have the same meaning as generally understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the field to which this creation belongs. Furthermore, for example, those terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with their meanings in the context of the relevant field, and unless explicitly defined as such in this document, they will not be understood as idealized or Too formal meaning.

To sum up, although this creation has been disclosed as above in an embodiment, it is not intended to limit this creation. Those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which this creation belongs can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of this creation. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent application scope.

100: computer system

105: electronic components

110: Motherboard

120: Fan

132: Processor

134: Storage Equipment

135: baseboard management controller

136: power supply unit

138: Chassis Management Controller

140: Air duct

150: Active cooling device

160: optical transceiver

Claims (10)

An electronic component located downstream of a computer system, the electronic component comprising: a printed circuit board electrically connected to the computer system, the printed circuit board comprising: a transceiver slot for receiving at least one optical transceiver, the at least one The optical transceiver is matched with an active optical cable; and one or more heating components; an air duct arranged on the printed circuit board; and an active cooling device thermally coupled with the printed circuit board. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the one or more heat-generating components includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the one or more heat-generating components are thermally bonded and arranged in a heat sink, and are thermally coupled to a temperature sensor. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the active cooling device is selected from one of a blower, a liquid cooling system, a semiconductor cooling chip, and a heat pipe. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the active cooling device is fastened to the printed circuit board through the air duct. The electronic component according to claim 1, wherein the active cooling device is operatively controlled through a baseboard management controller (BMC) provided in the computer system. The electronic assembly according to claim 1, wherein the air duct includes: An upstream portion, a first open end, the upstream portion including: a first portion having a first flat top surface at a first height from the printed circuit board; a second portion having an inclined surface; and a The first side wall is on either side of the upstream part; a downstream part is at a second open end opposite to the first open end, and the downstream part includes: a first side at a second height from the printed circuit board Two flat top surfaces, the second height is less than the first height; and a second side wall, on either side of the downstream part, wherein the inclined surface connects the first flat top surface of the upstream part and the downstream part The second flat top surface is such that the airflow entering the upstream part at the first open end is guided to leave the downstream part at the second open end. A computer system includes: a plurality of fans for driving the airflow downstream of the computer system; and an electronic component located downstream of the computer system. The electronic component includes: a printed circuit board electrically connected to the computer system; The circuit board includes: a transceiver slot for receiving at least one optical transceiver, the at least one optical transceiver is matched with an active optical cable; and one or more heating components; an air duct arranged on the printed circuit board ; And an active cooling device, which is thermally coupled with the printed circuit board. The computer system according to claim 8, wherein the one or more heat-generating components are thermally arranged in a heat sink and thermally coupled to a temperature sensor. The computer system according to claim 8, wherein the air duct includes: an upstream portion and a first open end, and the upstream portion includes: a first portion having a first portion at a first height from the printed circuit board; A flat top surface; a second part having an inclined surface; and a first side wall on either side of the upstream part; a downstream part at a second open end opposite to the first open end, the The downstream portion includes: a second flat top surface at a second height from the printed circuit board, the second height being less than the first height; and a second side wall, on either side of the downstream portion, wherein the inclined surface Connecting the first flat top surface of the upstream portion and the second flat top surface of the downstream portion such that the airflow entering the upstream portion at the first open end is guided to leave the downstream portion at the second open end .

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