Cooling technique for a storage system

A storage system coupled to an upper-level apparatus, the storage system comprising:

• a housing;
• a circuit substrate disposed inside the housing;
• a plurality of non-volatile storage devices inserted from a front side of the housing and coupled to the circuit substrate;
• and
• first and second units inserted from a rear side of the housing and coupled to the circuit substrate,
• wherein either of the first and second units includes a controller configured to receive an I/O request from the upper-level apparatus, and to perform I/O of data to/from at least one of the non-volatile storage devices according to the I/O request;
• wherein either of the first and second units includes a fan;
• wherein the rear side of the housing includes an upper-tier portion defining an upper-tier opening, the upper-tier opening being an opening that is an entrance/exit for the first unit, and a lower-tier portion defining a lower-tier opening, the lower-tier opening being an opening that is an entrance/exit for the second unit, and the housing further includes a boundary portion that is a boundary between the upper-tier portion and the lower-tier portion, and a shutter unit;
• wherein when the first unit is inserted from the upper-tier opening and coupled to the circuit substrate, an upper-tier passage that is a space leading from the upper-tier opening into an inside of the housing is blocked by the first unit, and when the second unit is inserted from the lower-tier opening and coupled to the circuit substrate, a lower-tier passage that is a space leading from the lower-tier opening into the inside of the housing is blocked by the second unit;
• wherein the boundary portion includes a first through hole that is a through hole connecting the upper-tier passage and the lower-tier passage;
• wherein when the first and second units are coupled to the circuit substrate and the fan is operating, air is drawn in from the front side of the housing, and the air passes through the circuit substrate, an inside of one of the first and second units, the first through hole and an inside of another of the first and second units and is discharged from the rear side of the housing;
• wherein when the fan is operating, if the first unit is removed from the upper-tier portion, the shutter unit blocks the upper-tier passage, and if the second unit is removed from the lower-tier portion, the shutter unit blocks the lower-tier passage;
• wherein the shutter unit includes one shutter portion;
• wherein when the first unit and the second unit are mounted on the rear side of the housing, the shutter portion is held between the first unit and the second unit;
• wherein when the fan is operating, if the first unit is removed from the upper-tier portion, the shutter portion blocks the upper-tier passage, and if the second unit is removed from the lower-tier portion, the shutter portion blocks the lower-tier passage;
• wherein the shutter portion is rotatable around a predetermined rotation shaft, and if the first unit is removed from the upper-tier portion, the shutter portion blocks the upper-tier passage by rotating the rotation shaft in a first rotation direction, and if the second unit is removed from the lower-tier portion, the shutter portion blocks the lower-tier passage by rotating the rotation shaft in a second rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction;
• wherein the shutter unit includes an elastic portion in addition to the shutter portion;
• wherein the elastic portion pulls the shutter portion toward the rear side of the housing via an elastic force;
• wherein if the first unit is removed from the upper-tier portion, the shutter portion is rotated in the first rotation direction by the elastic force, and if the second unit is removed from the lower-tier portion, the shutter portion is rotated in the second rotation direction by the elastic force;
• wherein the storage system further comprises
• a first anti-EMI (electromagnetic interference) member that is an anti-EMI member for the first unit, and
• a second anti-EMI member that is an anti-EMI member for the second unit;
• wherein each anti-EMI member includes an elastic member;
• wherein the first anti-EMI member includes a member that presses the first unit downward;
• wherein the second anti-EMI member includes a member that presses the second unit upward;
• wherein when the first unit is removed from the upper-tier portion, the second unit is moved upward by the second anti-EMI member, the shutter portion is thereby pressed upward, and the elastic force is exerted so that the shutter portion rotates in the first rotation direction, whereby the shutter portion rotates in the first rotation direction;
• and
• wherein when the second unit is removed from the lower-tier portion, the first unit is moved downward by the first anti-EMI member, the shutter portion is thereby pressed downward, and the elastic force is exerted so that the shutter portion rotates in the second rotation direction, whereby the shutter portion rotates in the second rotation direction.