Method, apparatus, and system for cooling electronic components
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsChandrakant D. Patel, Abdlmonem H. Beitelmal, Cullen E. Bash
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus, method, and system for cooling electronic components is disclosed. The apparatus includes liquid-to-air heat exchange equipment mounted to an enclosure for cooling the electronic components housed therein. In one embodiment the apparatus is a self-contained, stand-alone unit. In another embodiment the apparatus is connected to a remote heat exchange device. The system includes several of the apparatus arranged in parallel and is controlled to balance and optimize efficiency among the several apparatus.
Claims35
An apparatus for cooling electronic components, said apparatus comprising:
- means for enclosing said electronic components;
- means for mounting said electronic components within said means for enclosing said electronic components;
- and
- means for cooling said electronic components, said means for cooling comprising:
- means for exchanging heat mounted to said means for enclosing;
- means for communicating air through said means for enclosing, said means for communicating air comprising:
- means for conveying air across said means for exchanging heat to cool said air;
- and
- means for supplying said air to said electronic components, thereby cooling said electronic components and warming said air;
- means for moving said air through said means for communicating;
- and
- means for controlling temperature within said means for enclosing.
The apparatus as claimed in 11, wherein said means for communicating further comprises a return plenum having at least one inlet in fluidic communication with said at least one outlet of said supply plenum, said return plenum being in fluidic communication with said means for conveying air.
An apparatus for cooling electronic components, said apparatus comprising:
- an enclosure;
- at least one mounting board mounted to said enclosure, said at least one mounting board having said electronic components mounted thereto;
- a supply plenum having at least one outlet directed toward said at least one mounting board;
- at least one heat exchanging device mounted to said enclosure;
- and
- at least one blower mounted to said enclosure, said at least one blower being fluidically interposed said at least one heat exchanging device and said supply plenum to move air from said at least one heat exchanging device, through said plenum, and past said at least one mounting board.
A method of cooling electronic components, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing mounting boards having said electronic components mounted thereto;
- docking said mounting boards within an enclosure;
- and
- cooling said electronic components, said cooling step comprising the steps of:
- exchanging heat between one medium and air within said enclosure to produce cooled air by using a heat exchanging device;
- and
- moving said cooled air into contact with said electronic components to cool said electronic components.
A method of cooling electronic components, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing an enclosure to house said electronic components;
- sensing at least one of temperature and power draw in at least one location within said enclosure;
- exchanging heat between one medium and air within said enclosure to produce cooled air using a heat exchanging device;
- moving said cooled air into contact with said electronic components to cool said electronic components;
- and
- adjusting said steps of exchanging heat and moving said cooled air in response to said sensing step.
A system for cooling electronic components, said system comprising:
- a plurality of enclosures, each enclosure of said plurality of enclosures comprising:
- at least one mounting board mounted to said each enclosure, said at least one mounting board having said electronic components mounted thereto,
- a supply plenum having at least one outlet directed toward said at least one mounting board;
- at least one heat exchanging device mounted to said each enclosure;
- a coolant supply line fluidically connected to said at least one heat exchanging device;
- at least one valve fluidically connected to said coolant supply line for varying fluid flow to said at least one heat exchanging device;
- at least one blower mounted to said each enclosure, said at least one blower being fluidically interposed said at least one heat exchanging device and said supply plenum to move air from said at least one heat exchanging device, through said supply plenum, and past said at least one mounting board;
- at least one variable outlet device in fluidic communication with said at least one outlet of said supply plenum;
- and
- at least one temperature sensing device mounted within said enclosure;
- at least one common coolant supply line fluidically connected to each said coolant supply line of each of said plurality of enclosures;
- and
- at least one control chip mounted to at least one of said plurality of enclosures, said at least one control chip being electronically connected to receive input from at least one of said at least one temperature sensing device and said mounting board, said control chip being electronically connected to transmit output to at least one of said at least one valve, said at least one blower, and said at least one variable outlet device to vary the performance of each enclosure of said plurality of enclosures individually and to vary the performance of said plurality of enclosures collectively as a system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.