Cooling system for use in cooling electronic equipment

Abstract

A system for cooling electronic equipment, especially modular electronic units mounted in racks, each having a casing with an air inlet, an air outlet and a fan for cooling the contents of the unit. The system uses a chiller unit, between adjacent racks for returning cooled air to ambient, each of which can be a piping array connected to a supply of chilled water. A baffle backing the piping array improves heat exchange and provides a more uniform transfer of heat to each array, thereby enabling optimum temperature differences to be achieved across each rack. A slidable framework supports the piping array and defines an air space on the cooled air side of the array. An auxiliary piping array extends rearwardly of racks so as to communicate with rear air spaces behind the racks and thereby cool heated air flowing in the rear air spaces. An auxiliary heat extraction device, operated by an independent electrical generator, includes a temperature sensor located in a return pipe of the piping array, and a switch responsive to an output from the sensor for starting the generator in order to extract heat from the coolant if the return coolant temperature falls below a predetermined value due to failure of a power supply driving the main heat extraction device.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.