Patent Application
20180249594
This application claims the benefit and priority of Great Britain Patent Application No. 1421610.5 filed Dec. 4, 2014. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to the mounting of electrical components. In particular, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to the management of heat in rack-mounted arrays of drives, such as servo drives.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Servo- and other types of drives are commonly mounted vertically as well as horizontally to create banks of drives (e.g. data servers or supercomputers). Hot air from the lower drives rises up through the bank and heats the drives in the rows above. This can have a negative effect on the rating of components, limiting their performance.
Arrangements exist for cooling banks of drives, such as convective cooling, or forcing cooling air through the bank of drives by means of fans. Such cooling systems are often integrated into the cabinets which house the banks. However, such cooling systems require specialist equipment, and can be expensive to maintain and install. There is therefore a need for simple and inexpensive methods for cooling vertical banks of drives which can be integrated into existing cabinets and drives without modification.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope of all of its features.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drive apparatus, comprising:
a ducting piece comprising a base face, a top face opposite the base face, first and second end faces opposite to each other and adjacent to the base face, and attachment means, wherein the top face is closed and the base face is at least partially open, and wherein at least one of the first and second end faces is at least partially open; and
a drive comprising an air vent and fixing means, wherein the attachment means of the ducting piece is coupled to the fixing means of the drive such that the at least partially open base face of the ducting piece is arranged to cover the air vent of the drive.
The apparatus of the present invention can be mounted in a bank, whilst at the same time preventing hot air expelled from the vent of the drive rising and heating drives higher up in the bank. The base face of the ducting piece is arranged over the vent of the drive, whilst the top face opposite this base face is closed. Therefore, the hot air which is expelled through the vent enters the ducting piece and is diverted sideways through at least one of the at least partially open first and second end faces of the ducting piece. This prevents the hot air rising vertically through the bank of drives and thus improves the rating of the drives. The ducting piece of the present invention could be manufactured with a variety of cross sections. The choice of cross section could allow wiring to be located along the top of the drive. The present invention is also advantageous as the length of the ducting piece (as measured between the two end faces) can be altered to suit the size of the drive it is coupled to. This allows users to cheaply and easily change between different size drives and/or ducting piece cross section, without the cost of reconfiguring an expensive cooling system.
Preferably, both the first and second end faces are partially open. This allows air to be diverted away from the drive in two directions. Furthermore, in preferred embodiments both the first and second end faces are fully open. This architecture ensures that the maximum air flow away from the drive is achieved for the smallest ducting piece.
Preferably, the attachment means of the ducting piece is click-fit coupled to the fixing means of the drive. This architecture means the ducting piece can be quickly and easily changed over, without the need for specialist tools or equipment.
In preferred embodiments, a configurable drive and air duct system comprises a plurality of drive apparatuses, wherein at least one of the first and second end faces of each ducting piece is connected to a first or second end face of an adjacent ducting piece. When the drives are aligned in rows, ducting pieces of adjacent drives can be connected to one another along the row. This allows hot air expelled from the vents of each of the drives to travel sideways along the row of drives and to be expelled at the end of the row. This architecture reduces the hot air rising vertically through the bank of drives, and allows drives to be stacked vertically without affecting their performance.
Preferably, air is extracted from either or both ends of the air duct system. Also preferably, a blanking plate can be used to restrict air flow in one direction. In a preferred embodiment, there is a duct extension to facilitate removal of heat from the system. One end of the duct extension is suitable for connection to a first or second end face of a ducting piece. An additional end of the duct extension can be suitable for attachment to another device suitable for aiding the movement of air, for example an extraction hose or a fan.
All of these embodiments allow the drive and air duct system to be customised to suit the current equipment and set up of the individual user. This makes the drive and air duct system of the present invention truly modular and user configurable; it can also be integrated to current banks of drives for little cost and without extensive modification to existing equipment.
In a preferred embodiment, a fan is provided to encourage air flow through the ducting pieces. The fan may be provided in a ducting piece or in the duct extension, for example. This architecture can increase the efficiency with which hot air is expelled from the ducting system, without the need for integrating external fan systems with the present invention.
In preferred embodiments, the system further comprises a cabinet in which the apparatuses, wherein an airflow path formed at least in part by the ducting pieces extends to a hole in a wall of the cabinet. This allows the heat to be removed from the housing in which the drives are located.
In another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a drive system comprising:
a drive comprising an air vent; and
a backplane coupled to the drive, wherein a hole is provided in the backplane adjacent to the air vent.
The drive system of the present invention can be mounted in a bank and housed in a cabinet. In this embodiment of the present invention, heat generated in the drive is expelled through a vent at the rear of the drive. As the drive is mounted on the backplane, a corresponding hole is formed in the backplane so that the expelled heat is not prevented from leaving the drive by the backplane.
Preferably, the drive system comprises one or more further drives coupled to the backplane, wherein the drives comprise air vents, and wherein one or more further holes are provided in the backplane adjacent to the or each further air vent. This embodiment allows a plurality of drives to be mounted in a bank, whilst all being able to expel heat rearwards through the vent.
Preferably, the system also comprises one or more ducting pieces, wherein each ducting piece extends from an air vent through an adjacent hole. In some embodiments, the system further comprises a cabinet in which the backplane is mounted, and each ducting piece extends from the air vent to a hole provided in the cabinet. Preferred ducting pieces comprise an at least partially open base face, an at least partially open top face opposite to the base face, and closed side faces adjacent to the base face and the top face. A ducting piece may be disposed through each hole of the backplane, such that the at least partially open base face is arranged to cover the air vent of each drive. The ducting piece can ensure that the heat is expelled from the cabinet housing the drives and backplanes by forming a channel which extends rearward from the drive to the outside of the cabinet.
Further aspects and areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that various aspects of this disclosure may be implemented individually or in combination with one or more other aspects. It should also be understood that the description and specific examples herein are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The apparatus 150 of the present invention is shown in
The air ducting piece 108 in this embodiment comprises a base face 122, a top face 114 opposite to the base face 122 and first and second end faces (118 and 120) adjacent to the base face 122. There are also two other faces 124 and 126. Preferably, faces 124 and 126 are closed. The air ducting piece 108 also comprises attachment means (not shown in
In this embodiment, the base face 122, first end face 118, and second end face 120 are completely open, but in some embodiments the base face 122, the first end face 118, and the second end face 120 may be only partially open. In all embodiments, at least one of the first end face 118 and second end face 120 is at least partially open and is suitable for connection to an adjacent ducting piece. Two adjacent ducting pieces may connect with a click-fit mechanism, or may be mating parts. Other methods of connection between two adjacent ducting pieces may also be used. Preferably, an air tight seal is formed between adjacent ducting pieces.
The air ducting piece 108 may be formed of plastic or any other material suitable for formation into the desired geometry. Preferably, the air ducting piece 108 is formed of an insulating material, as such a material may optimise the prevention of heat rising from the lower banks of drives 104 to the upper bank 106. However, the air ducting piece 108 may also be formed of a non-insulating material such as a metal.
The attachment means of the air ducting piece 108 is arranged to couple to the fixing means of the servo drive 102 to create an attachment 116 between the servo drive 102 and the air ducting piece 108. In the preferred embodiment, the attachment means of the air ducting piece 108 couples to the fixing means of the servo drive 102 with a click-fit. This allows the air ducting piece 108 to be easily attached and detached from the servo drive 102. However, other means of attachment between the air ducting piece 108 and the servo drive 102 could be used. For example, the air ducting piece 108 could be attached to the servo drive 102 by means of a bolt or a screw. Preferably, the attachment 116 between the attachment means of the air ducting piece 108 and the fixing means of the servo drives 102 is air tight. The air ducting piece 108 attaches to the servo drive 102 such that the base face 122 of the air ducting drive covers the air vent 110.
Once the air ducting piece 108 is connected to the servo drive 102, heat generated during use of the servo drive 102 leaves the servo drive 102 through the air vent 110. The closed top face 114 of the air ducting piece 108 prevents the hot air from rising. Instead, the hot air is diverted sideways through the first and second end faces of the air ducting piece 108, as illustrated by the horizontal arrows in
Preferably, a plurality of apparatuses 150 shown in
Where the system 250 comprises a plurality of the apparatus 150 of the present invention, each servo drive 202 can be of a different width w, and the corresponding air ducting piece 208 is chosen such that it is of suitable length l for connection to said servo drive 202. In this sense, the apparatus 150 is truly modular and user configurable; the size and geometry of the air ducting piece 108 can be chosen to suit the existing servo drive 102. When a plurality of apparatuses 150 are combined in a system 250, a user may configure the air ducting piece 208 to an existing servo drive 202, without having to replace the servo drive 202 to ensure that the width w is equal to the length l of the air ducting piece 208.
When there is a plurality of apparatuses 150 of the present invention combined in a system 250, heat rises from the air vent 210 of each servo drive 202 and then is diverted by the closed top face 214 down the length of the ducting section formed of the plurality of air ducting pieces 208.
The system 250 shown in
A second embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The duct extension 370 can have the same cross section as the plurality of ducting pieces 308, or can be of a varying cross section, provided at least one end face of the duct extension 370 is suitable for connection to an end face of a ducting piece 308. Alternatively, the duct extension 370 can be replaced with a plurality of ducting pieces 308 to extend the plurality of ducting pieces 308 to the edge of a cabinet 390, or outside of the cabinet 390. The cabinet 390 contains the plurality of drive apparatuses which form the bank 300. The duct extension 370 can be a single rigid piece of material, or a flexible pipe. Alternatively, the duct extension 370 can be formed of a plurality of pieces of material.
The fan 380 can be incorporated into the duct extension 370 or a ducting piece 308. The blanking plate 360, duct extension 370 and fan 380 can be arranged in combination with each other, or used in isolation. Alternatively, a plurality of blanking plates 360, duct extensions 370 and fans 380 can be arranged to modify the method of heat extraction to suit the equipment of the user.
In a third embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in
In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, illustrated in
In order to vent the hot air from the cabinet and prevent the servo drives 502 in the cabinet 590 from overheating as the expelled heat rises through the cabinet 590, a hole can be made in the cabinet. The backplane 595 can be arranged within the cabinet 590 such that the hole in the backplane 595 and the hole in the cabinet 590 line up. This ensures the vent 510 of the servo drive 502 is arranged to expel the hot air through the hole in the cabinet 590. Preferably, a ducting piece 508 can be employed to bridge the gap between the backplane 595 and the cabinet 590; the ducting piece 508 ensures more effective venting of the heat from the cabinet 590.
The ducting piece 508 can be attached to the cabinet 590, the backplane 595 or the servo drive 502. The ducting piece 508 can be attached to the servo drive 502 as in the embodiments described above. For example, the ducting piece 508 can comprise attachment means which-click fit couple to fixing means of the servo drive 502. Alternatively, the ducting piece 508 can be coupled to the servo drive 502 by means of bolts or screws.
In this embodiment, the ducting piece 508 comprises an at least partially open base face, an at least partially open top face opposite to the base face, and side faces adjacent to the base face and top face. The ducting piece 508 can be of any cross section, provided the ducting piece 508 is suitable to cover the air vent 510 of the servo drive 502 and facilitate the expulsion of heat from the servo drive 502. In this embodiment, the ducting piece 508 is of a rectangular cross section, but other geometries may be used.
The ducting piece 508 can be formed of the same materials as the ducting piece of the previous embodiments. For example, the ducting piece 508 can be formed from an insulating or non-insulating material. The ducting piece 508 can be formed of a single rigid piece of material, or a flexible pipe. Alternatively, the ducting piece 508 can be formed of a plurality of pieces of material. An additional duct extension 370 could also be employed to bridge the gap between the hole in the backplane 595 and the hole in the cabinet 590.
Other variations and modifications will be apparent to the skilled person. Such variations and modifications may involve equivalent and other features which are already known and which may be used instead of, or in addition to, features described herein. Features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, features which are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be provided separately or in any suitable sub-combination. It should be noted that the term “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps, the term “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality, a single feature may fulfil the functions of several features recited in the claims and reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. It should also be noted that the Figures are not necessarily to scale; emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1421610.5 | Dec 2014 | GB | national |
