Patent Application
20090141442
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cooling of electronic packages and more particularly to cooling of electronic components used in a computing system environment.
2. Description of Background
The industry trend has been to continuously increase the number of electronic components inside computing systems environments. A computing system environment can simply comprise of a simple personal computer or be a complex network of large computers in processing communication with one another. While increasing the components inside a simple computing system environment does create some challenges, however, such an increase create many problems in computing system environments that include large computer complexes. In such instances many seemingly isolated issues affect one another, and have to be resolved in consideration with one another. This is particularly challenging in environments where the computers in the network are either packaged in a single assembly or housed and stored in close proximity.
One such particular challenge when designing any computing system environment is the issue of heat dissipation. Heat dissipation if unresolved, can result in electronic and mechanical failures that will affect overall system performance, no matter what the size of the environment. As can be easily understood, the heat dissipation increases as the packaging density increases. In larger computing systems environments, however, not only the number of heat generating electronic components are much larger than that of smaller environments, but thermal management solutions must be provided that take other needs of the system environment into consideration. Furthermore, improper heat dissipation can create a variety of other seemingly unrelated problems ranging from dynamic loading problems affecting structural rigidity of the computing system environment, to cost prohibitive solutions to provide proper air conditioning to customer sites where such computing system environments are being stored.
In some computing environments, heat dissipation issues are addressed by moving air over and at times through electronic devices and components that are to be cooled. In many instances, to properly cool an electronic device by moving air over and thru it, a thermal duct is used. In the prior art currently being used, the thermal duct is often sealed to the device. Unfortunately, in many instances, especially when servicing or installation of new components is involved, the thermal duct must be removed to access the components that are underneath it. This creates difficulties, especially in instances where the removal of the duct has to be repeated with some frequency. Consequently, a system and method is needed that allows for easy removal and re-installation of thermal ducts which are necessary in some applications.
The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantages are provided through the provision of a method and incorporated assembly for cooling of an electronic device or component. The assembly comprises a thermal duct having a fixed portion and a removable portion. The portions each have complementary interlocking components to secure them to one another. Also a first attachment block is provided. The first attachment block has complementary interlocking portions with the first and second thermal duct portions such that the block can be secured at least partially to either/or thermal duct portion. A second attachment block is also provided that has a complementary interlocking portion with the removable duct portion. This second attachment block can be secured to one or more electronic devices requiring cooling. In one embodiment, a standoff can also be provided to address any height restrictions and or needs for the securing of the thermal duct. The standoff can be at least partially secured to thermal duct and when used to a computer mounting board or plate.
Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the invention are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed invention. For a better understanding of the invention with advantages and features, refer to the description and to the drawings.
The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Thermal ducts, in general, are used in heating, ventilation and air cooling of devices to deliver and/or to remove air. Thermal ducts used to cool electronic devices are used in the same capacity, including the ones used in large computing environments. In prior years, these thermal ducts were disposed in desired areas and then sealed to optimize cooling. This was an adequate solution if the ducts were not to be removed, or at least not to be removed frequently. With the advent of technology, at least in computer industry, the need to repeatedly insert and remove these ducts has grown. An increased number of electronic components disposed in a very cramped and limited foot print has made it vital to remove these ducts during installation and service calls to reach areas behind the ducts or components being cooled by these ducts. Therefore, the need to have an easily removable cooling duct has become an important issue to address. The embodiment of
In
In
The first portion 110 comprises a fixed duct sub-assembly as shown and referenced by numerals 112. The second portion 120 further comprises a removable duct sub-assembly as illustrated and referenced by numerals 122.
A first and second attachment block is also provided. As provided in the figure, the first attachment block is referenced as 151 while the second attachment block is referenced as 162. The attachment blocks 151 and 162, as will be discussed later, are provided to attach to different components of a device or electronic component. In a preferred embodiment, both blocks 151 and 162 present a female type dovetail profile. This particular arrangement, however, can be altered in different embodiments to address particular needs.
It should be noted that the removable duct 122 sub-assembly (hereinafter removable duct 122) has several engagement attachment parts itself that are all collectively referenced as 124. In this embodiment, the engagement attachments are provided on a plurality of different sides of the removable duct 122 to later ensure a proper securing and fit with different components as will be discussed. Mainly one engagement attachment is provided to interlock with each attachment block (151 and 163) at least partially, while another one is provided to interlock with the fixed thermal duct portion 112. In this example the removable portion of the duct 122 has a male profile (124) on all sides, while both the fixed portion and all the attachment blocks have a female profile. It is possible, however, for the removable duct portion 122 to have different profiles on different sides and for the attachment blocks and the fixed portion to have different profiles. In addition, in the embodiment of
Once the blocks are attached, their placement, as will be seen later, will be such that they will be disposed on substantially perpendicular planes to one another. To ease understanding, in the illustrated figure, a legend is provided that show the direction of the almost 90 degree rotation. The female type dovetail profiles of the blocks are referenced as 153 and 163 respectively as illustrated.
The cooling duct 100 will then be secured to the attachment blocks as will be discussed. The fixed portion 112 of the cooling duct 100 will be secured on one side to the removable portion 122. On an adjacent side, the fixed cooling duct 112, which is a part of the first portion 110, will then be then partially secured to the first attachment block 151. In one embodiment, the cooling duct 112 would be fabricated such that the block and the fixed duct are interlocking secured. The remaining portion of the first attachment block will be secured later to the removable portion 122 of the duct as will be discussed. To provide for better reference, the receiving part is referenced by numerals 113, although it is difficult to view this from the angle perspective of
In a preferred embodiment, the attachment block 151 will be pre-attached to other components or mounted to a frame or frame side before the fixed duct 112 is secured to it, but this is not a requirement and they can first be interlocking secured, if desired. To provide for better reference, the receiving part is referenced by numerals 113, although it is difficult to view this from the angle perspective of
In a preferred embodiment, the fixed cooling duct 112 in turn is then mounted to a mounting plate (not shown in
The second attachment block 162 is then secured to the to-be-cooled device. In a preferred embodiment, as stated earlier, the first and second attachment blocks 151 and 162 will be on substantially perpendicular planes. The removable portion 122 of the thermal duct 100 is then disposed between the fixed duct portion 112 and the second attachment block 162. In the preferred embodiment, where an interlocking dovetail is used, the interlocking dovetail should become fully engaged to ensure full extent of the movement. At this point, the bottom of the first and second portions 110 and 120 are disposed such that it will be physically impossible to move them any further. In some embodiment, it may be necessary to exert some amount of force to ensure complete engagement of the two portions 110 and 120.
Once the two portions 110 and 120 are fully engaged, it is possible to remove and reinsert the removable duct portion 120. In this embodiment, the duct would be removed by pulling it, by itself, and in a substantially straight direction until it is completely separated from the assembly and disengaged from it.
To replace the removable duct 122 back into its previous position, such as the end of a service call completion, the removable duct portion 122 is again reinserted by aligning the dovetail features first. The removable duct 122 is then again disposed between the fixed duct 110 and the second attachment block 162 until the dovetail features are engaged to the full extent of the movement. Some force or pressure can be exerted until the two bottoms of the two portions 110 and 120 no longer can be moved any closer.
In
As can be seen in the illustration of
As shown in the figure, the two attachment blocks 510 and 620 are disposed as to be substantially perpendicular to one another. Fixed duct 112 is also secured to the board 200 as shown. In this example, fixed duct 112 is secured directly to the mounting plate 202 while other arrangements are possible.
In addition, as can be viewed from the example illustrated in the figure, the fixed portion of the duct (112) is partially secured to first attachment block 151, with a remaining portion (referenced separately as 252) remaining to be later secured to the removable portion of the duct 122. The fixed portion 112 and the attachment blocks are disposed such that the first attachment block 151 is disposed on a plane between the fixed duct 112 and the second attachment block 162.
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the placement of the fixed duct 112 is such that it is disposed on a substantially parallel plane to that of the second attachment block 162, disposing the fixed duct 112 on a substantially perpendicular plane with that of the first attachment block 151 as was discussed earlier in conjunction with the relative placement of the two attachment blocks.
It should also be noted that to ease accessibility to other components and/or to better provide an interlocking fit for the thermal duct 100, at least part of the thermal duct can be mounted on a standoff. To provide an example of this concept, as shown in
In the view provided by the illustration of
As was discussed in conjunction with the embodiment of
Once disposed in place, the interlocking engagement attachment parts of the removable portion (in this case the male counterparts) 124, will engage not just the second attachment block 162, but also the fixed duct portion 112 and the first attachment block 151 on different sides.
Once the removable portion 122 is disposed in place and the interlocking parts are engaged with one another, it may be necessary to exert some pressure to ensure that the dovetail feature is engaged to the full extent of movement, as discussed earlier. This point will happen when the bottom of the removable portion is firmly bottomed out on all sides with the block attachments and the fixed duct 112. In an alternate embodiment, it is possible to have a retracting interlocking portion on the removable side 122 that is fully retracted while the removable duct is being installed or removed, but is fully extended once the side 122 is disposed between the fixed duct 112 and the second attachment block 162 such that one or all interlocking counterparts 124 extend into the receiving counterparts on one or a plurality of sides. This is to ensure a very tight and secure fit that does not require application of additional force. In such a case, one or more, release buttons can be provided to retract or fully expand the retracting components. Other arrangement as known to those skilled in the art is possible.
As before, once it is desired to remove the removable side 122, the side can be simply disengaged and then pulled out until it becomes completely separated as shown in the figure.
Among many advantages as discussed earlier, the assembly and the method and arrangement of the present invention, as discussed allows for one or more electronic devices and/or components to be properly cooled by moving air over and through them using a thermal duct that does not require sealing. Similarly, the present invention does not provide a need for thermal foams or other components that can be costly and difficult to apply.
While the preferred embodiment to the invention has been described, it will be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in the future, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall within the scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construed to maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.
