The present invention relates to a rack or a system case for information equipments, in particular to a rack system and its ventilation apparatus.
As network technologies advance, the market and demand of servers become increasingly greater, and the major feature of the server resides on its powerful computing capability. However, the more powerful the computing capability, the greater is the quantity of heat produced during the operation of the server. After a long time of use, the operation performance of the server may be affected adversely or even the server may be damaged. To overcome this problem, manufacturers generally install the server at a heat dissipating rack with good ventilation.
The server is usually placed in the heat dissipating rack at an office to avoid hot air exhausted from the rear of the rack and noises generated by a fan in the rack from affecting the staffs in the office, and the heat dissipating rack is generally designed as a closed rack. With reference to
However, there is a distance between the chassis 20 and the cooling device 30, and the cold air 50 is blown from the bottom of the chassis 20 into the chassis 20, and thus it is easy to have a non-uniform heat dissipation problem, wherein the temperature of a server installed at the bottom of the chassis 20 is lower, and the temperature of the server installed at the top of the chassis 20 is higher. In addition, the closed rack 10 takes no measures when the cooling device 30 is failed, so that heat will be accumulated continuously in the closed rack 10 and the server may be damaged in a worse scenario. Even if the temperature of the external environment or the temperature of the hot air 40 is low, the aforementioned cooling device 30 still keeps running continuously and causes unnecessary waste of energy sources. In view of these problems of the prior art, the inventor of the present invention conducted extensive researches and experiments, and finally provided a feasible design to overcome the problems.
Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a rack system comprising: a cooling device and a chassis arranged adjacent and parallel to each other and jointly separating the interior space of the closed rack into a cold air channel and a hot air channel, so that the heat generated by stacked servers in the chassis can be dissipated uniformly, and the rack system of the present invention can have high energy efficiency.
To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a rack system, comprising: a closed rack; a chassis, installed in the closed rack; and a cooling device, installed in the closed rack and disposed adjacent and parallel to the chassis, wherein the cooling device and the chassis jointly separate the interior space of the closed rack into a cold air channel and a hot air channel, and the cooling device has an air outlet and an air inlet, and the air outlet is corresponsive to the cold air channel, and the air inlet is corresponsive to the hot air channel.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a rack system that turns on a ventilation device when the aforementioned rack system runs into a special situation such as a high temperature occurred inside the cold air channel or a malfunction of the cooling device, so as to achieve the effect of decreasing the temperature of the rack system during emergency.
To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a ventilation apparatus of a rack system, comprising: a rack; a chassis, installed in the rack; a cooling device, installed in the rack and disposed adjacent and parallel to the chassis, wherein the cooling device and the chassis jointly separate the interior space of the closed rack into a cold air channel and a hot air channel, and the cooling device has an air outlet and an air inlet, and the air outlet is corresponsive to the cold air channel, and the air inlet is corresponsive to the hot air channel; a ventilation device, including a switching air extraction door and a switching air exhaustion door installed at the rack, wherein the switching air extraction door is corresponsive to the cold air channel, and the switching air exhaustion door is corresponsive to the hot air channel; a sensor, installed at the cold air channel, for sensing a temperature change of an external air and outputting an electrical signal; and a controller, electrically coupled to the sensor, for receiving the electrical signal to turn on the ventilation device.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a rack system that turns on a ventilation device to guide and use external airflow as a cold source to dissipate and discharge heat when the aforementioned rack system encounters a special situation such as a low temperature occurred at the exterior of the rack, so as to achieve the power saving effect of the rack system of the present invention.
To achieve the aforementioned objective, the present invention provides a ventilation apparatus of a rack system, the ventilation apparatus comprises: a rack; a chassis, installed in the rack; a cooling device, installed in the rack and disposed adjacent and parallel to the chassis, and the chassis jointly separating an interior space of the closed rack into a cold air channel and a hot air channel, and the cooling device having an air outlet and an air inlet, and the air outlet being arranged at a position corresponding to the cold air channel, and the air inlet being arranged at a position corresponding to the hot air channel; a ventilation device, including a switching air extraction door and a switching air exhaustion door installed at the rack, and the switching air extraction door being arranged corresponding to the cold air channel, and the switching air exhaustion door being arranged corresponding to the hot air channel; a sensor, installed outside the rack, for sensing a temperature change of outside air and outputting an electrical signal; and a controller, electrically coupled to the sensor, for receiving the electrical signal to turn on the ventilation device.
The present invention further has the following effects.
The rack system of the present invention is divided into two modes: a closed circulation mode and a ventilation mode. For the closed circulation mode, the cooling device and the chassis are adjacent and parallel to each other and jointly separate an interior space of the closed rack into a cold air channel and a hot air channel. In other words, an opening formed on a side of the chassis is interconnected to the cold air channel, such that servers stacked in the chassis can achieve the effect of uniformly dissipating heat. In the meantime, the rack system of the present invention can shorten the air delivering distance to reduce the work of driving the air and the energy loss occurred during the air delivering process. Therefore, the rack system of the present invention can have high energy efficiency.
Further, the closed rack defines a closed space, so that it is not necessary to take the effect of external air flows into consideration, and the closed rack can be installed at any corner of an office or a factory. In the meantime, the closed rack has an independent cooling device capable of isolating noises produced by the server fans and cooling devices, and hot air will not be discharged to affect the external environment or working staffs in the office or factory.
If the internal temperature of the cold air channel is high, a possible situation includes a failure of the cooling device in one of the ventilation modes, and the system starts the ventilation device to guide external airflow directly to dissipate and discharge heat, so as to achieve the effect of lowering the temperature of the rack system of the rack system of the present invention immediately in urgent cases. In addition, when the temperature of the environment is low, external airflow is guided and used as a cold source which is another ventilation mode, so that the system will turn on the ventilation device to guide the external airflow directly to dissipate and discharge the heat, so as to achieve a power saving effect of the rack system of the present invention.
The present invention uses the chassis to separate the cold air channel and the hot air channel to avoid a short circulation of cold/hot air and guide cold air into the chassis to improve the heat dissipating effect of the rack system of the present invention. In addition, the rack system and the ventilation apparatus of the present invention have independent heat dissipating systems, so that the invention simply requires users to connect a network and a power cord for the operation, and the rack system of the present invention features a simple and easy installation.
In the closed circulation mode of the present invention, a cold/hot air circulation system is formed naturally in the closed rack, and a controller is provided for adjusting an air flow or temperature of the air outlet to a predetermined temperature to lower electric power consumption by a control of the variable flow, so as to achieve the energy saving effect.
If the internal temperature of the cold air channel is high, the cooling device may fail, and the alarm is on, wherein a light is lit or a siren is issued to transmit an abnormal message to inform maintenance personnel to inspect the cooling device and enhance the safety of using the rack system of the present invention.
The rack (or closed rack) includes a plurality of chassis to facilitate the capacity expansion or layout of the servers, wherein the size of the rack (or closed rack) is adjusted for the assembly to expand the chassis. In addition, the space of the rack (or closed rack) is increased, such that plural cooling devices, switching air extraction doors, switching air exhaustion doors and switching extraction fans can be installed to stabilize the heat dissipating effect of the rack system of the rack system of the present invention and prevent the interior of the rack (or closed rack) from having the problems of non-uniform temperature or heat accumulation.
The technical characteristics and contents of the present invention will become apparent with the following detailed description and related drawings. The drawings are provided for the purpose of illustrating the present invention only, but not intended for limiting the scope of the invention.
With reference to
The chassis 11 is installed in the closed rack 1′, wherein information equipments such as the servers can be placed or installed in the chassis 11.
The cooling device 2 is contained in the closed rack 1′ and arranged adjacent and parallel to the chassis 11, and the cooling device 2 and the chassis 11 jointly separate an interior space of the closed rack 1′ into a cold air channel 12 and a hot air channel 13, and the cooling device 2 an air outlet 21 and an air inlet 22, and the air outlet 21 is corresponsive to the cold air channel 12, and the air inlet 22 is corresponsive to the hot air channel 13; wherein the cooling device 2 can be a direct expansion air conditioner or a chilled-water air conditioner. The present invention further comprises a sensor 4 and a controller 5, and the sensor 4 is installed at the cold air channel 12 for sensing a temperature change in a space and outputting an electrical signal, and the controller 5 is electrically coupled to the cooling device 2 and the sensor 4, and the controller 5 receives an electrical signal to control the air flow or temperature at the air outlet 21 of the cooling device 2.
With reference to
The chassis 11 is installed in the rack 1, wherein information equipments such as servers can be stacked in the chassis 11, and the rack 1 has a front wall 14 and a ceiling 15.
The cooling device 2 is disposed in the rack 1 and adjacent and parallel to the chassis 11, and the cooling device 2 and the chassis 11 jointly separate the interior space of the rack 1 into a cold air channel 12 and a hot air channel 13, and the cooling device 2 has an air outlet 21 and an air inlet 22, and the air outlet 21 is corresponsive to the cold air channel 12, and the air inlet 22 is corresponsive to the hot air channel 13. Wherein, the air outlet 21 is a switching air outlet 211, and the air inlet 22 is a switching air inlet 221, and the cooling device 2 is a direct expansion air conditioner or a chilled-water air conditioner.
The ventilation device 3 includes a switching air extraction door 31, a switching air exhaustion door 32 and a switching extraction fan 33, and the switching air extraction door 31 has a filter 311 installed thereon; the switching air extraction door 31 is installed at the rack 1 and corresponsive to the cold air channel 12; and the switching extraction fan 33 is installed at the rack 1 and corresponsive to the hot air channel 13. More specifically, the switching air extraction door 31 is disposed on the front wall 14, and the switching air exhaustion door 32 is disposed on the ceiling 15, but the actual positions are not limited to those of this preferred embodiment only, and the switching extraction fan 33 can be installed on the switching air extraction door 31 or the switching air exhaustion door 32.
A sensor 4 is installed at the cold air channel 12 for sensing a temperature change in a space and outputting an electrical signal; another sensor 4 is installed outside the rack 1 for sensing a temperature change of external air (which is the ambient temperature of the external periphery of the rack 1) and outputting an electrical signal. More specifically, if the sensor 4 at the cold air channel 12 detects a temperature in a space is higher than a predetermined temperature such as 35° C. (this temperature can be set by the user, but is not limited to 35° C. only), an electrical signal will be generated. If the sensor 4 at the exterior of the rack 1 detects a temperature of the external air lower than the predetermined temperature such as 25° C. (this temperature can be set by the user, but is not limited to 25° C. only), an electrical signal will be generated.
The controller 5 and the cooling device 2 are electrically coupled to each respective sensor 4, and the controller 5 is used for receiving the electrical signal to turn on the ventilation device 3 and close the cooling device 2.
The present invention further comprises an alarm 6 electrically coupled to the sensor 4 of the cold air channel 12, and the alarm will be turned on if the sensor 4 of the cold air channel 12 generates an electrical signal.
The assembly of the rack system and the ventilation apparatus of the present invention provides two modes: a closed circulation mode and a ventilation mode of the rack 1 based on the temperature of the cold air channel 12 and the external temperature of the rack 1.
If the sensor 4 of the cold air channel 12 senses a temperature in a space is lower than 35° C., or the sensor 4 at the exterior of the rack 1 senses a temperature of external air is higher than 25° C., the system will be set to the closed circulation mode automatically. In the closed circulation mode, the rack 1 used in the assembly of the rack system of the present invention is a closed rack 1′, wherein the chassis 11 is installed in the closed rack 1′; and the cooling device 2 is contained in the closed rack 1′ and disposed adjacent and parallel to the chassis 11, and the cooling device 2 and the chassis 11 jointly separate the interior space of the closed rack 1′ into a cold air channel 12 and a hot air channel 13, and the cooling device 2 has an air outlet 21 and an air inlet 22, and the air outlet 21 is corresponsive to the cold air channel 12, and the air inlet 22 is corresponsive to the hot air channel 13.
As described above, the adjacent and parallel cooling device 2 and chassis 11 jointly separate the interior space of the closed rack 1′ into the cold air channel 12 and the hot air channel 13, so that an opening formed on a side of the chassis 11 is interconnected to the cold air channel 12 to allow cold air to blow out from the air outlet 21 into the cold air channel 12 uniformly, and the servers stacked in the chassis 11 can achieve the uniform heat dissipating effect to prevent the problem of having a higher temperature at the top of the chassis 11 and a lower temperature at the bottom of the chassis 11. In the meantime, the heat generated by the servers can be dissipated directly to the hot air channel 13, and finally the hot air of the hot air channel 13 is extracted away from the closed rack 1′ through the air inlet 22, so that the rack system of the present invention can shorten the air delivery distance. The invention not only reduces the work done in the air, but also reduces the energy loss during the air delivery process. Obviously, the rack system of the present invention provides high energy efficiency.
Further, the closed rack 1′ comes with a closed space, so that it is not necessary to take the airflow of the external environment into consideration, and the closed rack 1′ can be installed at any place of the office or factory. In the meantime, the closed rack 1′ has an independent cooling device 2 installed therein and capable of isolating the noises produced by the server fan and the cooling device 2, and hot air will not be discharged to affect the external environment and the staffs in the office or factory.
If the sensor 4 of the cold air channel 12 senses the temperature of a space is higher than 35° C., or the sensor 4 at the exterior of the rack 1 senses the temperature of external air is lower than 25° C., the system will be set to the ventilation mode automatically. In the ventilation mode, the assembly of the rack system and the ventilation apparatus of the present invention includes a chassis 11 installed in the rack 1; the cooling device 2 is contained in the rack 1 and disposed adjacent and parallel to the chassis 11, and the cooling device 2 and the chassis 11 jointly separate the interior space of the rack 1 into a cold air channel 12 and a hot air channel 13, and the cooling device 2 has an air outlet 21 and an air inlet 22, and the air outlet 21 is corresponsive to the cold air channel 12, and the air inlet 22 is corresponsive to the hot air channel 13; the ventilation device 3 includes a switching air extraction door 31 and a switching air exhaustion door 32 installed at the rack 1, and the switching air extraction door 31 is corresponsive to the cold air channel 12, and the switching air exhaustion door 32 is corresponsive to the hot air channel 13; a sensor 4 is installed at the cold air channel 12 for sensing a temperature change of a space and outputting an electrical signal, and another sensor 4 is installed at the exterior of the rack 1 for sensing a temperature change of external air and outputting an electrical signal; the controller 5 and the cooling device 2 are electrically coupled to each sensor 4, and the controller 5 is used for receiving the electrical signal to turn on the ventilation device 3 and shut the cooling device 2.
The rack system of the present invention may have the following special situations.
A high temperature occurs inside a cold air channel due to the failure of the cooling device 2 (wherein the temperature of the cold air channel 12 is higher than 35° C., and this predetermined temperature can be set by users, but not limited to 35° C. only), and the system will turn on the ventilation device 3 and shut the cooling device 2, so that external airflow is guided and used for dissipating and discharging the heat to achieve the effect of lowering the temperature of the rack system of the present invention immediately in urgent cases.
A low temperature occurs at the exterior of the rack 1. The external airflow can be used directly as a cooling airflow (wherein the temperature of the exterior of the rack 1 is lower than 25° C., and this predetermined temperature can be set by users, but not limited to 25° C. only), and the system will also turn on the ventilation device 3 and shut the cooling device 2, so that external airflow is guided and used for dissipating and discharging the heat to achieve the power saving effect of the rack system of the present invention.
In addition, the present invention uses the chassis 11 to separate the cold air channel 12 and the hot air channel 13 to avoid a short circulation of cold and hot air and assure the cold air to flow into the chassis 11 in order to improve the heat dissipating efficiency of the rack system of the present invention. The rack system and the ventilation apparatus of the present invention come with independent heat dissipating systems, so that they can be used simply by connecting to a network and a power cord. The rack system of the present invention has the feature of an easy installation.
With reference to
In
In
In
With reference to
In summation of the description above, the rack system and the ventilation apparatus of the present invention improve over the prior art and comply with the patent application requirements, and thus the invention is duly filed for patent application. While the invention has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
101102728 | Jan 2012 | TW | national |