AU2006100973A6 - Air management module for server racks - Google Patents

Description

Regulation 3.2B(l)(a).

Precision Metals Queanbeyan Pty Ltd

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION for an innovation patent for the invention entitled:- "Air management module for server racks" The following is a full description of the invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 00 Technical field.

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SThis invention concerns the control of the temperature of electrical and electronic o equipment mounted on racks. More particularly, it concerns a chamber or housing within which electrical and electronic equipment typically, but not exclusively, 5 computer hardware may be mounted, on racks, and to which cooling gas may be Ssupplied.

Preliminary note.

(-i In this specification, including the claims, "directional" terms (such as "top", "bottom", "side", "upper", "lower", "above", "upwards", "below", "behind", "horizontal", "vertical" and the like) will be used in the sense that these terms would have with reference to an embodiment of the invention positioned as shown in the Figures of the accompanying drawings.

Background to the invention.

Information technology equipment (for example, computer equipment) is commonly stored on racks, called "server racks", so that the equipment occupies minimum space in the room (the "server room") in which it is located. Storing a number of items of such equipment in a server room in close proximity to each other makes the dispersion of the heat generated by the combined equipments more difficult. Problems (typically a malfunctioning of the equipment or total equipment failure) can be experienced if the temperature of the equipment increases to a value that is higher than the maximum operating temperature of the equipment.

To prevent overheating of the equipment, many server rooms employ a system which uses a raised floor in the server room, constructed of perforated tiles. The (or each) server rack is positioned in a (or a respective) cupboard or housing. The equipment cooloing method is as follows: 00 1. Chilled air is delivered to the cavity underneath the raised floor and is allowed to enter the server room through the perforations in the tiles.

2. Air from the server room is drawn into the housing, through apertures in the front door of the housing, by a fan installed within the housing.

3. The same fan directs the drawn-in air to the region in which the server rack is installed.

4. The drawn-in air then cools the equipment on the server rack.

The warmed drawn-in air is then discharged through a rear door of the Shousing, or through a panel at the rear of the housing, to re-enter the server room.

This system is inherently inefficient. Chilled air delivered to the server room through the perforations in the floor tiles is allowed to combine with warm exhaust air from the server rack, raising the temperature of the chilled air before it is drawn into the server rack housing. Also, air entering the server rack housing circulates freely in the housing, allowing it to follow the path of least resistance, which means that it may by-pass some of the equipment mounted on the server rack.

Disclosure of the invention.

One object of the present invention is to provide a more efficient cooling system for electrical and electronic equipment mounted on a server rack.

This objective is achieved by the provision of modified form of cupboard or housing in which a server rack may be positioned. The modified housing, which we have termed an "air management module", has a vertical wall within the cupboard, positioned near the front door of the housing; and a box-like plinth below the housing. The region behind the vertical internal wall is the region in which a server rack may be installed. The box-like plinth forms a cavity beneath the housing, to which chilled air can be supplied through an air inlet port of the 00 plinth. An outlet port of the plinth enables air to be supplied, by pressure established by at least one fan or impeller installed in the plinth, to the region of the housing which is between the internal vertical wall and the front door of the housing. Thus this region forms a vertical plenum at the front of the housing.

(The term "plenum" is used in its sense of a container or region in which the air pressure is greater than that of the surrounding air pressure.) Venting apertures in the vertical internal wall are positioned so that, when the Sfront door of the housing is sealed, air from the plenum is directed through these venting apertures towards equipment mounted on a server rack which has been installed in the housing. This air then absorbs heat from the equipment and cools the equipment before passing through venting apertures in the rear wall of the housing, to be exhausted to an appropriate location.

Alternatively a second vertical wall may be provided near the rear wall of the housing, with venting apertures in it so that the air which has passed over the equipment on the server rack may be vented into the vertical chamber between the second vertical internal wall and the rear wall of the housing, from where it may be passed to an appropriate location.

Thus, according to the present invention, an air management module for cooling equipment mounted on a server rack comprises: a housing, said housing having a front door, a rear wall, a base member and a top member; and a box-like plinth below said housing; characterised in that: a) a substantially vertical internal wall extends from said base member to said top member, to define a vertical plenum region between said internal wall and said front door; an air inlet being provided in said base member between said internal wall and said front door; b) said vertical internal wall has at least one venting aperture therein; 00 c) said plinth comprises a box-like chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port, said outlet port being positioned directly under said air inlet in said base member; d) at least one fan or impeller is included in the chamber of the plinth, to force 0 5 air in that chamber through the outlet port of the plinth, through the air inlet of the base member and into the vertical plenum; and e) the inlet port of the plinth is in the base of the plinth and, when the module is in use, the plinth is positioned above a duct containing chilled air, to establish a connection between that duct and the inlet port of the plinth.

0 Preferably two fans or impellers are included in the chamber of the plinth.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings.

Figure 1 is an isometric sketch of a module constructed in accordance with the present invention, comprising a housing on a box-like plinth.

Figure 2 is an isometric sketch of the plinth of the module illustrated in Figure 1.

I 00 O Figure 3 depicts a closed drawer member that slides into (and is shown in) the plinth of Figure 2, with its top cover removed to show a preferred assembly of two fans (impellers) in the drawer member.

Figure 4 is a partly schematic sectional view at A-A of Figure 1, with the connection r between the outlet port of the plinth and the air inlet at the base of the plenum being 0 shown, also partly schematically, in detail B.

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Detailed description of the illustrated embodiment.

(Ni The air management module 10 for cooling equipment mounted on a server rack that is shown in Figure 1 has a housing with a front door 12 and a top member 13, and a plinth 11. As shown in Figure 4, the housing also has a rear wall 9 and a base member 17.

The plinth 11 is shown in more detail in Figure 2. This plinth has a box-like structure with an inlet port (not shown in the drawings) in its base and an outlet port 21 in its top 20. A drawer member 22 has been slid into the plinth 11. The drawer member 22 has a pair of hand grip members 23 to assist the manual sliding of the drawer member into, and out of, the plinth. Conveniently, the plinth and the drawer member may be constructed using sheet metal.

The drawer member illustrated in Figure 3 has a top cover 24. A pair of fans (impellers) 26, 27 are mounted in the drawer member 22. The fan 26 is the primary impeller; the fan 27 is the secondary impeller. The drawer member 22 also contains two static shroud members 29 and 30, and a dynamic shroud member 28. The static shroud members are fixed in position and, when the present invention is in use with a server rack and electrical or electronic equipment within the housing 10, direct air from the impellers 26 and 27 to the region which is underneath the cut-out region 25 in the cover 24. The cut-out region 25 is directly 00 0 below an air inlet into the bottom of the plenum region of the housing 10 (which is described in more detail below).

In addition, the static shroud 29 also shields a thermostatic control assembly 31, also located in the drawer member 22, from the airflow from the fans 26 and 27.

C 5 The dynamic shroud 28 has a free end which moves about a pivot line 28A under Sthe influence of the air pressure created by the operation of the primary impeller 26, to allow air to be directed to the region of the drawer member 22 which is below the (-i cut-out region When the module of the present invention is in use, as noted above, the plinth 11 will be positioned above a duct (not shown in the drawings) which is supplied with chilled air. A connection is established between that duct and at least one inlet port (also not shown in the drawings) in the base of the plinth 11, this inlet port (or these inlet ports) being below at least one correspondingly located aperture in the base of the drawer member 22. Operation of the fans (impellers) 26 and 27, when the thermostatic control assembly 31 (which responds to a temperature sensor in the region of the housing 10 in which the server rack is located) switches them on, causes the chilled air from the duct to be drawn into the drawer member 22, then be forced into the plenum region 16 (see Figure 4) of the housing 10 through the cut-out region 25 of the cover 24 of the drawer member 22.

Thus the cut-out region 25, and the corresponding cut-out region 21 in the plinth 11 constitute an outlet port of the plinth 11. This outlet port, therefore, is positioned under the front region of the housing 10, adjacent to the bottom of the front door 12 (that is, at the base of the plenum region 16 of the housing Referring now to Figure 4, it will be seen that the housing 10 contains a vertical 00 internal wall 15 which extends from the base member 17 of the housing to its top member 13. The internal wall 15 is planar (though it need not be), with its plane parallel to the plane of the front door 12 of the housing 10. The space in the housing 10 between the wall 15 and the door 12 is the plenum region 16 of the present invention.

The illustrated embodiment of the present invention includes the optional second

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vertical internal wall 19, which is near to (but spaced from) the rear wall 9 of O the housing 10. The region 18 between the first vertical internal wall 15 and the second vertical internal wall 19 is the region within which a server rack may be installed. (If the second internal wall 19 is not present, then the region between the vertical internal wall 15 and the rear wall 9 of the housing will be the region within which a server rack may be installed.) An inlet 8 at the base of the plenum region 16 allows chilled air, forced through the outlet port of the plinth 11, to enter the plenum region 16. Venting apertures (not shown in the drawings) in the internal wall 15 are positioned to direct the chilled air in the plenum region 16 into the region 18 so that the chilled air will cool equipment mounted on a server rack in the region 18.

The chilled air, warmed by the heat generated by the equipment mounted on a server rack in the region 18, leaves the region 18 through vents (also not shown in the drawings) in the second vertical internal wall 19 and enters the region 7 that is between the second wall member 19 and the rear wall 9 of the housing 10. The air then leaves the region 7 through at least one outlet, and flows to either the ambient atmosphere or a collection region for re-chilling and re-use. (In the absence of the second wall 19, the air that has been warmed by the equipment on the server rack leaves the housing 10 through at least one outlet in the rear wall to flow to either the ambient atmosphere or a collection region for re-use 00 after being chilled again.) Significant benefits are obtained by using the present invention to cool electrical and electronic equipment mounted on a server rack, instead of using the prior art technique described in the introductory part of this specification. Not only is the chilled air caused to flow directly to the equipment on the rack, but its temperature is not increased by being diluted by the air in the room in which the module is located (the server room). In addition, neither the incoming chilled air nor the Sair that has been warmed by being passed over the equipment on the server rack is fed directly into the server room. Thus the cooling of the equipment using the present invention does not interfere with the air conditioning of the server room.

Engineers, computer operators and other persons who work in this field will appreciate that variations to and modifications of the air management module illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described above may be made without departing from the present inventive concept, as defined by the following claims.

For example, one specific arrangement of two fans (impellers) in the drawer member 22 has been shown in the accompanying drawings, but other arrangements of fans and shrouds (icluding a single fan) may be used. Also, it is not essential to have the fans mounted on a drawer member that slides into the cavity established by the plinth 11, although this is the preferred way in which fans can be positioned within the plinth.

Claims (4)

1. An air management module for cooling equipment mounted on a server rack, said module comprising: a housing having a front door, a rear wall, a base member and a top member; and a box-like plinth below said housing; characterised in that: Sa) a substantially vertical internal wall extends from said base member to Ssaid top member, to define a vertical plenum region between said internal wall and said front door; an air inlet being provided in said base member between said internal wall and said front door; b) said vertical internal wall has at least one venting aperture therein; c) said plinth comprises a box-like chamber having an inlet port and an outlet port, said outlet port being positioned directly under said air inlet in said base member; d) at least one fan or impeller is included in the chamber of said plinth, to force air in that chamber through said outlet port of said plinth, through said air inlet of the base member and into the vertical plenum; and e) said inlet port of said plinth is in the base thereof and is adapted to be connected to a duct that is connected to a source of chilled air.

2. An air management module as defined in claim 1, in which said at least one fan or impeller is mounted in a drawer member that is slidable into said plinth chamber, said drawer member including a top that has a cut-out region in a position that, when said drawer member is within said plinth, is directly below said air inlet of said plenum. 00 O O

3. An air management module as defined in claim 1 or claim 2, in which two fans or impellers are included in said chamber of said plinth.

4. An air management module for cooling equipment mounted on a server O rack as defined in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with Sreference to the accompanying drawings. (NO Dated this nineteenth day of June, 2008. PRECISION METALS QUEANBEYAN PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE