Patent Application
20100230058
(1). Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a protective covering for open electrical equipment and computer server racks. In particular, the present invention relates to a shield or canopy to prevent water damage to server computers and other electrical equipment mounted in open equipment racks.
(2). Description of the Prior Art
Earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and other unexpected events can damage the roofs and ceilings of buildings housing electrical equipment racks, such as computer server racks. Severe roof damage will allow rain water to pour through ceilings, causing major damage to sensitive and expensive electrical equipment and computer servers mounted in open electrical equipment racks. Other water sources, such as burst water pipes, leaking HVAC systems, sub-grade water infiltration, and broken windows can also result in water damaged electrical equipment.
Present measures to prevent water damage to computer servers and other electrical equipment mounted to open equipment racks have proven inadequate. For example, in recognition of this water damage problem, attempts are made to locate server rooms in areas of a building that are considered to be relatively safe from roof failure and other causes of water damage. However, server and electrical equipment room location is not always an option due to cost constraints and building architecture. Therefore, a need remains for an effective shield against water damage and falling debris for computer server and electrical equipment racks.
The present invention is directed to a water shedding and debris shield for use with an electrical equipment rack to protect electrical equipment racks, such as computer server racks, from water damage in case of a failure of the server room ceiling. In general, the server shield is made up of a waterproof shell or cover, preferably a transparent or translucent cover, fastened to an aluminum frame having arc-shaped end sections joined by spaced, parallel, elongated side rails. The aluminum frame is supported at a spaced distance over the electrical equipment rack, e.g., with threaded rods bolted to hangers that are pre-installed in most server rooms to support cable racks. Individual sections of the server shield may be fastened together end-to-end to increase the length of the overall shield, which is dictated by the length of the server racks or cabinets being protected. Gaskets such as neoprene seals, usually with aluminum T flashing, are compressed between fastened server shield sections to prevent water from penetrating between the fastened sections. Deployable curtains may also be attached to the elongated side rails. The curtains can be quickly moved from a raised, stored position to a downward deployed position to further protect the shielded equipment racks from water damage. For example, the curtains may be rolled up in the raised position and rolled down to their deployed position.
In one embodiment, the arc-shaped server shield end sections have an arc in the range from about 120° to about 180°, and a radius of from about 34 inches to 40 inches, when the shield is designed to cover and protect equipment racks having aisles on either side. This embodiment is preferably attached to the ceiling over the equipment rack to be protected. Alternately, the shield can be attached over an equipment rack with threaded rods extending upwardly from the equipment rack.
Another embodiment of the shield may be used to cover equipment racks placed against a wall. In this alternate embodiment the shield is has an arc of from about 60° to about 90° and a radius of about 80 inches to 85 inches, with the upper end of the arc being attached to the wall so that the shield extends outwardly from the wall over the server rack. A seal is positioned at the interface of the shield and wall to prevent water from migrating along the wall to the rack. In either embodiment, elongated side rails connect to the end section arcs to form a frame to which the shell is fastened. The shell follows the contour of the end sections. Additional reinforcing arc-shaped sections may be attached to the side rails at locations between the end sections. The preferred fasteners used to attach the half or reduced server shield to the wall or equipment rack are bolts and threaded rods with nuts and washers.
The shell or cover is preferably made from a rectangular semi-rigid or rigid sheet of a plastic, such as polycarbonate. Alternately, the shell can be made of a sheet metal such as aluminum or a composite material such as fiberglass. Other materials can be used for the shell as long as they are impervious to water and are rigid enough to withstand falling debris, such as ceiling tiles and insulation.
Another important feature of the shield is the deployable, e.g., roll down, curtains, which are preferably made from rectangular sheets of a plastic, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet. Other curtain materials include, but are not limited to, waterproof canvas and other water-impervious flexible material. The curtains are attached to the side rails of the shield frame. The curtains are preferably as wide as the side rails are long, and are at least as long as the equipment rack being protected is tall. In one embodiment, the curtains are manually rolled up into a stored position and down into a deployed position. Releasable fasteners, e.g., hook and loop fasteners, are used to maintain the curtains in their stored positions. When deployed, the curtains substantially cover the sides of the covered area. When raised, however, the curtains do not interfere with normal access to rack equipment.
In another embodiment, at least one drive system to raise and lower the curtains is mounted on the shield frame and is in communication with the curtains. For example, if the curtains are rolled onto a roller, the drive system can be in communication with the roller via gearing or a drive belt. The drive system includes at least one motor that can be automatically switched on via an electrical switch in communication with a water sensor to automatically deploy the curtains to their deployed position when water is detected by the water sensor. The curtains preferably have weighted bottom ends to hold the curtains in their deployed position.
The server shield may also be used to prevent water damage to property other than electrical equipment and computer server racks. For example, the shield may be mounted over medical equipment such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines or over individual library book cases to protect library books from water damage. These and other aspects of the invention will be obvious to one skilled in the art upon a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment which follows, taken together with the drawings.
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, terms such as “forward,” “left,” and “downwardly,” are words of convenience and are not limiting terms.
Preferably, end sections 18 have an arched upper surface of from about 120° to about 180° and a radius of from about 34 to about 40 inches in the case of equipment racks having aisle access from both of its sides. On the other hand, as illustrated in
As shown in
Shield 14 preferably has a length of about eight feet. Any number of sections of shield 14 can be joined together end-to-end to extend over longer rows of electrical equipment and server racks. Gasket 36, fixed to either or both of arced end sections 18, is compressed between joined sections of shield 16 to prevent water from leaking through the interface of the joined sections.
Roll-down curtains 38 used to protect the sides of electrical equipment rack 12 from water damage are attachable to the side edges of shield 14. Curtains 38 have a rolled up stored position 40 as shown in
Automatically deployable curtains 64 to further protect electrical equipment rack 43 from showers of water and debris are attachable to the side edges of shield 44. Water sensor 66 in communication with electrical switch 68 activates a least one electric motor and drive system 70 to automatically deploy curtains 64 when water sensor 66 detects water.
Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. For example, the waterproof shield is preferably made from polycarbonate plastic. However, constructing waterproof shield from a composite fiberglass material or a sheet metal might be better suited in some circumstances. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.
