JP2000277956A - Cooling structure of electronic unit for rack mounting - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the size of a rack in the height and to make the structure compact as a whole. SOLUTION: In this cooling structure, a rack 2 for unit mounting, which have two pairs of poles 5a-5d, that are arranged in parallel by leaving prescribed intervals in a forward/backward directions and electronic units 3a and 3b which are installed in parallel in the upper/lower directions in the rack 2 and have fans 12a which are fitted to the poles 5a-5d, suck external air into a unit and discharge it outside the unit, are installed. Air ducts 4a and 4b for guiding discharged air from the fans 12a of the respective electronic units 3a and 3b to outer part of the rack 2 are arranged between the front and back poles 5a and 5c.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling structure for rack-mounted electronic equipment suitable for use in electronic equipment having a large number of card boards, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in business offices and the like,
2. Description of the Related Art Various types of electronic devices such as personal computers have been installed, and accordingly, use environment conditions of each electronic device have become severe. For example, in order to use the indoor space effectively, a rack for mounting equipment is used,
In some cases, a plurality of electronic devices are mounted in the rack in an up-down direction.

In general, in such a rack-mounted electronic device, when each electronic component in the device housing excessively increases in temperature due to heat generation, each electronic component is deteriorated, and as a result, its life is shortened and failure occurs. For this reason, a fan for cooling each electronic device is provided.

Conventionally, a cooling structure of this type of rack-mounted electronic device includes a rack for mounting the device having two frames (four columns) arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction, and a frame mounted on the rack. And a plurality of electronic equipment with a fan arranged in parallel in the vertical direction of the rack.

Cooling of such a rack-mounted electronic device is performed by allowing external air to flow into the electronic device from the front of the rack and flow out of the electronic device toward the rear of the rack.

[0006]

However, in the conventional cooling structure of rack-mounted electronic equipment, in order to secure a cooling passage for guiding external air, two or more of the plurality of electronic equipments are adjacent to each other. A space was formed between the electronic devices. In particular, when a large number of card boards are stored in parallel in the front-back or up-down direction in an electronic device, in order to prevent the cooling air passages from being blocked by each card board or the backplane, the cooling passages must be connected to the upper and lower electronic boards. It must be formed between devices. As a result, there is a problem that the rack dimension increases in the height direction, and the entire structure becomes large.

[0007] Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 5-31291 discloses a prior art as a "unit storage structure", but does not solve the above-mentioned problem. In other words, the cooling structure disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-31291 has a structure in which an air duct is interposed between two adjacent electronic device units among a plurality of electronic device units arranged in the left-right direction. The dimension increases in the direction, and the entire structure becomes larger.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and pays attention to a dead space corresponding to the thickness of a column between both front and rear columns of a rack, and arranges an air duct in the dead space to reduce the size of the rack. An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device, which can be shortened in a height direction, and thus can reduce the size of the entire structure.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device, comprising two pairs of columns which are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval. A rack for mounting equipment having
A plurality of electronic devices having fans arranged vertically in the rack and attached to a column and for sucking external air into the device and discharging the air to the outside of the device. An air duct for guiding the discharge air to the outside of the rack is provided between at least one pair of the columns. Therefore, when each fan draws in external air into the device and discharges it out of the device, the discharged air is guided out of the rack by the air duct.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to the first aspect, an air duct is arranged on a side of each electronic device. Therefore, the air discharged from the fan is guided to the outside of the rack by the air duct on the side of each electronic device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to the second aspect, each air duct is integrated. Therefore, the air ducts are attached to the support of the rack in an integrated state.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to the first, second, or third aspect, the air outlet of the air duct is opened above the rack and on the rear side of the rack. Therefore, the air discharged from the fan is guided to the upper side of the rack and the rear side of the rack by the air duct.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein an air inlet and an air opening are formed in the housing of the electronic device. An outlet is provided, and the air outlet is connected to the air outlet of the air duct.
Therefore, the air discharged from the air duct flows into the housing from the air inlet and is discharged out of the rack from the air outlet.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a sound absorbing member is mounted in an air duct. Therefore, noise due to the air discharged from the fan is absorbed by the sound absorbing member in the air duct.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
This will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cooling structure of a rack-mounted electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an electronic device in the cooling structure of the rack-mounted electronic device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 and 2, the cooling structure of the rack-mounted electronic device denoted by reference numeral 1 includes a rack 2, an electronic device 3, and an air duct 4.

The rack 2 has a support 5, a ceiling plate 6, a bottom plate 7 and a side cover 8, and is entirely formed to have dimensions conforming to the standard. Since the rack 2 is opened on the rear side, the air discharged from the air duct 4 is discharged to the rear side of the rack.

The struts 5 are a pair of front struts 5a and 5b, which are arranged in parallel with each other in the left-right direction at a predetermined interval, and a pair of rear struts 5c and 5d which are arranged in parallel with each of the front struts 5a and 5b at an interval. The rear support 5d is not shown) and stands upright on the bottom plate 7.

At the upper end of the column 5, front columns 5a and 5
Upper side trees 5e and 5f which connect b and the rear columns 5c and 5d at the upper portions are supported. At the lower end of the column 5, lower side trees 5g and 5h (the lower side tree 5h is not shown) for connecting the front columns 5a and 5b and the rear columns 5c and 5d at the lower part are supported.

Each of the columns 5a to 5d is provided with a mounting portion 9 having a large number of screw holes 9a and the like, which are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Thereby, the support 5 of the rack 2
, A plurality of electronic devices 3 and air ducts 4 are attached at predetermined intervals in the rack up-down direction.

The ceiling plate 6 is disposed above the rack 2 and attached to the upper side trees 5e and 5f. The ceiling plate 6 is provided with a discharge port 6a that opens in the rack vertical direction. As a result, the air discharged from the air duct 4 is discharged from the outlet 6 a of the ceiling plate 6.

The bottom plate 7 is disposed below the rack 2 and attached to the lower side trees 5g and 5h. The side covers 8 are disposed on both sides of the rack 2 and are attached to the columns 5a to 5d and the side members 5e to 5h.

The electronic device 3 is composed of a plurality of electronic devices 3a and 3b arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. The electronic device 3 is housed in the rack 2 via a mounting table (not shown), and is fixed to the front columns 5a and 5b. I have. Each of the electronic devices 3a and 3b includes a housing 10
, Circuit board 11, fan box 12 and power supply 1
3 and so on.

The housing 10 is formed of a rectangular box having an intake port (not shown) opening forward and an exhaust port (not shown) opening laterally. Flanges 10a, 10b for attachment to the front columns 5a, 5b are protruded from the front side surface of the housing 10.

The circuit board 11 is composed of a number of card boards 11a to 11e arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, and is horizontally mounted in the housing 10. These card substrates 11a to 11e
Are connected by a back plane 14f.

The fan box 12 has two fans 12 a arranged in the front-rear direction, arranged on one side of the circuit board 11, and housed in the housing 10. In addition,
Although the fan box 12 is arranged on one side of the circuit board 11, it may be arranged on a rear part in the housing 10. Also,
The fan boxes 12 may be arranged on both sides of the circuit board 11 in consideration of the balance of air discharge in the housing 10. The power supply 13 is housed in the housing 10 and is arranged behind the back plane 14f.

The air duct 4 includes a plurality of air ducts 4a and 4b (the same number as the number of the electronic devices 3) having a box 14 and a flange 15, and is disposed on one side (left side of the rack) of each of the electronic devices 3a and 3b. It is fixed between the front support 5a and the rear support 5c (each mounting portion 9) so as to cover the fan 12a. This eliminates the need to secure a cooling passage for guiding external air between the electronic devices 3a and 3b. In addition, the power supply 13 and the like can be disposed at the rear part in the housing 10.

The box 14 is formed by a rectangular box comprising a base plate 14a facing the side surface of the fan box 12, and an upper plate 14b, a lower plate 14c, a front plate 14d and a rear plate 14e connected to the base plate 14a. Have been.

The upper surface plate 14b and the lower surface plate 14c are entirely formed by flat trapezoidal pieces perpendicular to the base plate 14a. Among the above top plate 14b, the air outlet port 14b ₁ which is open to the rack upward. This allows
The discharge air from the fan 12a flows into the air duct 4, a portion is derived from the air outlet port 14b ₁ to the rack upwards.

The front plate 14d is entirely formed by a plane square piece perpendicular to the base plate 14a, the upper plate 14b, and the lower plate 14c. The back plate 14e is entirely the base plate 1.
4a, it is formed by a plane square piece that is inclined outward with respect to the upper surface plate 14b and the lower surface plate 14c.
The back plate 14e, the air outlet port 14e ₁ which is open to the rear of the rack side. Thereby, the fan 12a
Discharging air from the the flow into the air duct 4, a portion is derived from the air outlet port 14e ₁ to the rack rear side.

The flange 15 has two mounting flanges 15a and 15b for the front support 5a and the rear support 5c.
And protruded integrally with the front plate 14d and the rear plate 14e. Each mounting flange 15a, 15b has
Screw insertion holes 15 each opening in the left and right direction of the rack
a ₁ and 15b ₁ are provided.

Although the case where the air ducts 4a and 4b are separately attached to the column 5 has been described, the air ducts 4a and 4b can be attached to the column 5 in an integrated state. In this case, the air flow port which opens downward air duct 4a (not shown) is provided, the air outlet port 14b ₁ of the air duct 4b in the air flow port may be communicated.

In such a cooling structure of the rack-mounted electronic device, when each fan 12a is driven, as shown by an arrow in FIG. The discharged air is guided by the air duct 4 to the upper side of the rack and the rear side of the rack as shown by arrows in FIG.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is not necessary to form an air flow passage (cooling passage) between the two electronic devices 3a and 3b as in the prior art, so that the rack size can be reduced in the height direction. it can. Further, in the present embodiment, since the air duct 4 increases the passage distance of the discharge air from the fan 12a in the rack, the noise level during driving the fan can be suppressed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the air duct 4 is provided with the air outlets 14b ₁ and 14e ₁ which open to the upper part of the rack and the rear side of the rack. As a result, a good air discharge balance in the rack 2 can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the case where the air duct 4 merely functions as a member for guiding the air discharged from the fan 12a to the outside of the rack 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By attaching a sound absorbing member (not shown), noise due to air discharged from the fan 12a can be partially absorbed and suppressed.

In this embodiment, the case where the air outlets 14b ₁ and 14e ₁ of the air duct 4 are opened outside the rack 2 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and An open air inlet and an air outlet (both not shown) may be provided, and the air outlets may be connected to the air outlets 14b ₁ and 14e ₁ of the air duct 4.

In this case, the air discharged from the air duct 4 flows into the electronic device 3 (housing 10) from the air inlet of the housing 10 and then flows out of the rack 2 from the air outlet of the housing 10. In addition, the distance of the discharge air passing through the rack by the fan 12a is increased, and the noise due to the discharge air can be more effectively suppressed.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the air duct for guiding the air discharged from the fan of each electronic device to the outside of the rack is disposed between the front and rear columns, so that each fan can supply the external air. When the air is sucked into the device and discharged out of the device, the discharged air is guided to the outside of the rack by the air duct.

Therefore, since it is not necessary to form a cooling passage between the upper and lower electronic devices as in the conventional case, the rack size can be reduced in the height direction, and the overall structure can be reduced in size.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cooling structure of a rack-mounted electronic device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the electronic device in the cooling structure of the electronic device for rack mounting according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rack mounting electronic device cooling structure 2 Rack 3, 3a, 3b Electronic device 4, 4a, 4b Air duct 5, 5a-5d Support 10 Housing 11 Circuit board 11a-11e Card board 12 Fan box 12a Fan 14 Box 14a Base plate 14b Upper plate 14b ₁ Air outlet 14c Lower plate 14d Front plate 14e Back plate 14e ₁ Air outlet

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A rack for mounting equipment having two pairs of columns which are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval, and a rack arranged vertically in the rack and attached to the columns, and external air is supplied thereto. A plurality of electronic devices having a fan for sucking into the device and discharging to the outside of the device, and an air duct for guiding the air discharged from the fan of each of the electronic devices to the outside of the rack is provided between the two pairs of columns. A cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device, wherein the cooling structure is provided between at least a pair of columns. 2. The cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to claim 1, wherein said air duct is disposed on a side of each of said electronic devices. 3. The cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to claim 2, wherein said air ducts are integrated. 4. The cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the air outlet of the air duct is opened above the rack and on the rear side of the rack. 5. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein an air inlet and an air outlet are provided in the housing of the electronic device, the air inlet and the air outlet opening inside and outside the housing, and the air outlet is connected to the air outlet of the air duct. Item 5. The cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. 6. The cooling structure for a rack-mounted electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a sound absorbing member is mounted in the air duct.