U.S. patent application number 13/798411 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-20 for cooling system.
This patent application is currently assigned to INVENTEC CORPORATION. The applicant listed for this patent is INVENTEC CORPORATION, INVENTEC (PUDONG) TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Fei-Yau Lu, Ya-Chi Tseng.
Application Number | 20140076520 13/798411 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50273242 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140076520 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lu; Fei-Yau ; et
al. |
March 20, 2014 |
COOLING SYSTEM
Abstract
A system for cooling a server includes a chassis including a
first and a second chassis inlet, a first and a second chassis
outlet, a cooling fluid outlet and a cooling fluid inlet, and a
heat exchanger disposed in the chassis. The second chassis inlet
and outlet are connected to the second loading pipe. The cooling
fluid inlet is connected to a cooling fluid. The cooling fluid
outlet discharges the cooling fluid. The heat exchanger includes a
first and a second circulating pipe in thermal contact with each
other and a cooling pipe. The first circulating pipe is connected
to the first chassis outlet and the first chassis inlet
respectively. The second circulating pipe is connected to the
second chassis outlet and inlet. The cooling pipe is connected to
the cooling fluid outlet and the cooling fluid inlet. The chassis
and the heat exchanger form the modular cooling system.
Inventors: |
Lu; Fei-Yau; (Taipei,
TW) ; Tseng; Ya-Chi; (Taipei, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
INVENTEC (PUDONG) TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
INVENTEC CORPORATION |
Shanghai
Taipei |
|
CN
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
INVENTEC CORPORATION
Taipei
TW
INVENTEC (PUDONG) TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Shanghai
CN
|
Family ID: |
50273242 |
Appl. No.: |
13/798411 |
Filed: |
March 13, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/104.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 1/20 20130101; F28D
15/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/104.14 |
International
Class: |
F28D 15/00 20060101
F28D015/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 17, 2012 |
CN |
201210344031.X |
Claims
1. A cooling system for connecting to and cooling a server, wherein
the server comprises a first loading pipe for cooling a gas
entering the server and a second loading pipe for being in thermal
contact with an electronic device of the server, and the cooling
system comprises: a chassis including a first chassis outlet, a
first chassis inlet, a second chassis outlet, a second chassis
inlet, a cooling fluid outlet and a cooling fluid inlet, wherein
the first chassis outlet and the first chassis inlet both are used
for being connected to the first loading pipe, the second chassis
outlet and the second chassis inlet both are used for being
connected to the second loading pipe, the cooling fluid inlet is
used for being connected to a source of a cooling fluid, and the
cooling fluid outlet is used for discharging the cooling fluid; and
a heat exchanger disposed in the chassis, the heat exchanger
including a first circulating pipe, a second circulating pipe and a
cooling pipe, wherein the first circulating pipe and the second
circulating pipe are in thermal contact with each other, two ends
of the first circulating pipe are connected to the first chassis
outlet and the first chassis inlet, respectively, the two ends of
the second circulating pipe are connected to the second chassis
outlet and the second chassis inlet, respectively, and two ends of
the cooling pipe are connected to the cooling fluid outlet and the
cooling fluid inlet, respectively; wherein a first fluid is
provided to circulate in the first circulating pipe, a second fluid
is provided to circulate in the second circulating pipe, and the
cooling fluid is provided to circulate the cooling pipe such that
the chassis and the heat exchanger form the modular cooling system
together.
2. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling
system further comprises a first fluid tank and a first fluid pump,
the first fluid tank is disposed between the first circulating pipe
and the first chassis outlet, and the first fluid pump is disposed
between the first fluid tank and the first chassis outlet.
3. The cooling system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the cooling
system further comprises a first surge tank connected to the first
fluid tank.
4. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling
system further comprises a second fluid tank and a second fluid
pump, the second fluid tank is disposed between the second
circulating pipe and the second chassis outlet, and the second
fluid pump is disposed between the second fluid tank and the second
chassis outlet.
5. The cooling system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cooling
system further comprises a second surge tank connected to the
second fluid tank.
6. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cooling
system further comprises a first filter device, a second filter
device and a third filter device, the first filter device is
disposed between the first circulating pipe and the first chassis
inlet, the second filter device is disposed between the second
circulating pipe and the second chassis inlet, and the third filter
device is disposed between the cooling pipe and the cooling fluid
inlet.
7. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat
exchanger is a plate type heat exchanger.
8. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first
fluid and the second fluid are different substances from each
other, and the first fluid and the cooling fluid are the same
substance.
9. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chassis
further comprises a first fluid injection port and a first fluid
discharge port which are both connected to the first fluid tank,
the first fluid enters the first fluid tank via the first fluid
injection port, and is discharged from the first fluid discharge
port via the first fluid tank.
10. The cooling system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chassis
further comprises a second fluid injection port and a second fluid
discharge port which are both connected the second fluid tank, the
second fluid enters the second fluid tank via the second fluid
injection port and is discharged from the second fluid tank via the
second fluid discharge port.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority under 35
U.S.C. .sctn.119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 201210344031.X
filed in China on Sep. 17, 2012, the entire contents of which are
hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Technical Field
[0003] The disclosure relates to a cooling system, and more
particularly to a modular cooling system.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] With time goes by, accesses of information are increased
greatly. Not only workloads of servers which access the information
are increased greatly, the number of the servers, which process the
information, is increased, too. In other words, under the
circumstances that the workloads of the servers are increased, the
computations of electronic devices in each server are increased,
too. In general, an air conditioning system, including a
compressor, is disposed in a data center containing the multiple
servers, which makes the temperature of the data center including
the servers decrease. However, when only a few servers are disposed
in the one data center, the performing efficiency of the air
conditioning system is wasted. Moreover, when the data center
already has full of servers and another small amount of servers
needs to be further disposed in the data center, another new data
center and an air conditioning system thereof is further needed,
thereby increasing the cost of expanding cost. Moreover, when only
another few servers need to be further disposed in another new
data, the performing efficiency of the air conditioning system is
wasted again. That is to say, the manufacturer may not adjust the
number of the servers with good flexibility, which troubles
adjusting the scale of the server architecture. Therefore, how to
adjust the air conditioning system and the numbers of the server is
the problem manufacturers dedicated to solve.
SUMMARY
[0006] The disclosure provides a cooling system for connecting to
and cooling a server. The server comprises a first loading pipe for
cooling a gas entering the server and a second loading pipe for
being in thermal contact with an electronic device of the server.
The cooling system comprises a chassis and a heat exchanger. The
chassis includes a first chassis outlet, a first chassis inlet, a
second chassis outlet, a second chassis inlet, a cooling fluid
outlet and a cooling fluid inlet. The first chassis outlet and the
first chassis inlet are both used for being connected to the first
loading pipe. The second chassis outlet and the second chassis
inlet both are used for being connected to the second loading pipe.
The cooling fluid inlet is used for being connected to a source of
a cooling fluid. The cooling fluid outlet is used for discharging
the cooling fluid. The heat exchanger is disposed in the chassis.
The heat exchanger includes a first circulating pipe, a second
circulating pipe and a cooling pipe. The first circulating pipe and
the second circulating pipe are in thermal contact with each other.
Two ends of the first circulating pipe are connected to the first
chassis outlet and the first chassis inlet, respectively. The two
ends of the second circulating pipe are connected to the second
chassis outlet and the second chassis inlet, respectively. Two ends
of the cooling pipe are connected to the cooling fluid outlet and
the cooling fluid inlet. A first fluid is provided to circulate in
the first circulating pipe. A second fluid is provided to circulate
in the second circulating pipe. The cooling fluid is provided to
circulate the cooling pipe. Therefore, the chassis and the heat
exchanger form the modular cooling system together.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The disclosure will become more fully understood from the
detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and
thus are not limitative of the disclosure, and wherein:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cooling system according to an
embodiment of the disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a cooling system according
to another embodiment of the disclosure; and
[0010] FIG. 2B is another angle of perspective view of the cooling
system in FIG. 2A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0011] In the following detailed description, for purposes of
explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to
provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It
will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be
practiced without these specific details. In other instances,
well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order
to simplify the drawing.
[0012] Referring to FIG. 1, which is a diagram of a cooling system
according to an embodiment of the disclosure. A cooling system 10
in this disclosure may be connected to a server 20. The server 20
comprises a first loading pipe 210 and a second loading pipe 220.
The first loading pipe 210 is used for cooling a gas which enters
the server 20. The second loading pipe 220 is used for being in
thermal contact with an electronic device 230 in the server 20 to
cool the electronic device 230. The cooling system 10 comprises a
chassis 110 and a heat exchanger 120. The chassis 110 includes a
first chassis outlet 111, a first chassis inlet 112, a second
chassis outlet 113, a second chassis inlet 114, a cooling fluid
outlet 115 and a cooling fluid inlet 116. The first chassis outlet
111 and the first chassis inlet 112 are both used for being
connected to the first loading pipe 210. The second chassis outlet
113 and the second chassis inlet 114 are used for being connected
to the second loading pipe 220. The cooling fluid inlet 116 is used
for being connecting to a source of a cooling fluid (not shown).
The cooling fluid outlet 115 is used for discharging the cooling
fluid. The heat exchanger 120 is disposed in the chassis 110. The
heat exchanger 120 includes a first circulating pipe 121, a second
circulating pipe 122 and a cooling pipe 123. The first circulating
pipe 121 and the second circulating pipe 122 are in thermal contact
with each other. One end of the first circulating pipe 121 is
connected to the first chassis outlet 111 and other end of the
first circulating pipe 121 is connected to the first chassis inlet
112. One end of the second circulating pipe 122 is connected to the
second chassis outlet 113 and other end of the second circulating
pipe 122 is connected to the second chassis inlet 114. One end of
the cooling pipe 123 is connected to the cooling fluid outlet 115
and the other end of the cooling pipe 123 is connected to the
cooling fluid inlet 116. A first fluid is provided to circulate in
the first circulating pipe 121. A second fluid is provided to
circulate in the second circulating pipe 122. The cooling fluid is
provided to circulate in the cooling pipe 123.
[0013] In this embodiment, the cooling system 10 further comprises
a first fluid tank 131, a first fluid pump 141 and a first surge
tank 151. The first fluid tank 131 is disposed between the first
circulating pipe 121 and the first chassis outlet 111. The first
fluid pump 141 is disposed between the first fluid tank 131 and the
first chassis outlet 111. The first surge tank 151 is connected to
the first fluid tank 131.
[0014] The cooling system 10 further comprises a second fluid tank
132, a second fluid pump 142 and a second surge tank 152. The
second fluid tank 132 is disposed between the second circulating
pipe 122 and the second chassis outlet 113. The second fluid pump
142 is disposed between the second fluid tank 132 and the second
chassis outlet 113. The second surge tank 152 is connected to the
second fluid tank 132.
[0015] The cooling system 10 further comprises a first filter
device 161, a second filter device 162 and a third filter device
163. The first filter device 161 is disposed between the first
circulating pipe 121 and the first chassis inlet 112. The second
filter device 162 is disposed between the second circulating pipe
122 and the second chassis inlet 114. The third filter device 163
is disposed between the cooling pipe 123 and the cooling fluid
inlet 116.
[0016] By the above-mentioned arrangement, the chassis 110, the
heat exchanger 120, the first fluid tank 131, the second fluid tank
132, the first fluid pump 141, the second fluid pump 142, the first
surge tank 151, the second surge tank 152, the first filter device
161, the second filter device 162 and the third filter device 163
form the modular cooling system 10 together.
[0017] In this embodiment, the heat exchanger 120 may be a plate
type heat exchanger, but not limited to the disclosure. In other
embodiments, the heat exchanger 120 may be other types of heat
exchanger. The first fluid and the second fluid are different
substances from each other, and the first fluid and the cooling
fluid are the same substance. The first fluid and the cooling fluid
may be water in liquid phase and the second fluid may be
refrigerant. In some embodiments, the temperature of the
refrigerant at which the refrigerant is changed from liquid phase
to vapor phase may be below the operating temperature of the
electronic device 230.
[0018] When the cooling system 10 is assembled with the server 20,
the cooling system 10 may cool the server 20. In this embodiment,
the first fluid pump 141 may pump out the first fluid, stored in
the first fluid tank 131, via the first chassis outlet 111. The
first loading pipe 210 may be disposed at an inlet of the server
20. When a fan 240 impels a gas which is outside the server 20, the
first fluid in the first loading pipe 210 may absorb the heat of
the gas in order to cool the gas. Therefore, the cooled gas may
enter the server 20, which enables the cooling system 10 to cool
the server 20. When the fluid, whose temperature is risen because
of absorbing the heat, leaves the first loading pipe 210 of the
server 20, the fluid flows into the chassis 110 via the first
chassis inlet 112. The first fluid enters the first circulating
pipe 121 after being filtered by the first filter device 161 such
that impurities of the first fluid may not enter the first
circulating pipe 121, so as to prevent the first circulating pipe
121 from damage. The first fluid in the first circulating pipe 121
may perform heat transfer with the cooling fluid of the cooling
pipe 123 such that the heat of the first fluid is transferred to
the cooling fluid and the temperature of the first fluid is
decreased. The cooled first fluid may flow to the first fluid tank
131 anew to be stored. In other embodiments, since the circuit
which the first fluid flows through is not an open-loop circuit,
there are a small amount of impurities in the first fluid such that
the disposing of the first filter device 161 may be avoided. When
the pressure of first fluid tank 131 is too high or the amount of
the first fluid is too much, a part of the first fluid may flow
into the first surge tank 151 for stabilizing. In other
embodiments, the pressure of the first fluid is almost fixed, so
the disposing of the first surge tank 151 is avoided.
[0019] The second fluid pump 142 may pump the second fluid stored
in the second fluid tank 132 out of the chassis 110 and to the
second loading pipe 220 of the server 20. The second loading pipe
220 is disposed to and in thermal contact with the electronic
device 230 of the server 20. The second fluid in the second loading
pipe 220 may absorb heat generated by the electronic device 230 in
order to cool the electronic device 230, which enables the cooling
system 10 to cool the server 20. At this moment, since the second
fluid absorbs the heat to be risen its temperature. The second
fluid is easy to absorb the evaporation heat to be vaporized into
vapor phase partially. Moreover, when the temperature of the second
fluid is risen to the liquid-vapor-phase changing temperature (the
boiling point), the second fluid may absorb the steaming heat to be
steamed into gas phase partially. When the heated second fluid
whose temperature rises leaves the second loading pipe 220 of the
server 20, the second fluid may flow into the chassis 110 via the
second chassis inlet 114. The second fluid enters the second
circulating pipe 122 after being filtered by the second filter
device 162, impurities of the second fluid may not enter the second
circulating pipe 122, thereby preventing the second circulating
pipe 122 from damage. The second fluid in the second circulating
pipe 122 may perform heat transfer with the cooling fluid in the
cooling pipe 123, such that the heat is transferred to the cooling
fluid and the temperature of the second fluid is decreased. The
cooled second fluid may flow to the second fluid tank 132 to be
stored anew. In other embodiments, since the second fluid is not an
open-loop circuit, the impurities of the second fluid is little,
such that the disposing of the second filter device 162 is avoided.
When the pressure of the second fluid tank 132 is too high or the
amount of the second fluid is too much, a part of the second fluid
may flow into the second surge tank 152 for stabilizing.
[0020] The cooling fluid may flow from the source of the cooling
fluid to the chassis 110 via the cooling fluid inlet 116. After
being filtered by the third filter device 163, the cooling fluid
flows into the cooling pipe 123 of the heat exchanger 120,
impurities of the cooling fluid may not enter the cooling pipe 123
for preventing the cooling pipe 123 from damage. The cooling fluid
of the cooling pipe 123 absorbs the heat of the first fluid in the
first circulating pipe 121 and the heat of the second fluid in the
second circulating pipe 122. After absorbing the heat to make its
temperature rise, the cooling fluid is discharged out of the
chassis 110 via the cooling fluid outlet 115.
[0021] When the cooling system 10 is operated, the cooling system
10 and the server 20 construct a servo architecture together. When
the arrangement of the cooling system 10 and the server 20 is
assembled, the cooling system 10 and the server 20 may be linked up
by pipelines. When the arrangement of the server 20 and the cooling
system 10 is adjusted or disassembled, the pipelines between the
server 20 and the cooling system 10 may be disassembled. Thus, user
may assemble the modular cooling system 10 and server 20 according
to design or operating requirement as well as take apart the
modular cooling system 10 and server 20 according to design or
operating requirement.
[0022] Please refer to FIGS. 2A and 2B. FIG. 2A is a perspective
view of a cooling system according to another embodiment of the
disclosure. FIG. 2B is another angle of perspective view of the
cooling system in FIG. 2A. In this embodiment, a cooling system 30
does not include the first filter device 161, the second filter
device 163 and the first surge tank 151 in the first
embodiment.
[0023] A first fluid enters a heat exchanger 320 via a first
chassis inlet 312. Heat is discharged by the first fluid in the
heat exchanger 320 and the first fluid enters a first fluid tank
331. Three first fluid pumps 341 pump out the first fluid to a
first liquid collection tank 311a, and the first fluid is
discharged from the first chassis outlet 311. A chassis 310 further
comprises a first fluid injection port 371 and a first fluid
discharge port 372. The first fluid tank 331 is connected to the
first fluid injection port 371 and the first fluid discharge port
372 simultaneously. User may supply the first fluid of the cooling
system 30 via the first fluid injection port 371. When the amount
of the first fluid is too much or the first fluid needs to be
discharged, the first fluid may be discharged from the cooling
system 30 via the first fluid discharge port 372.
[0024] A second fluid may enter the heat exchanger 320 via a second
chassis inlet 314. After heat is discharged by the second fluid in
the heat exchanger 320, the second fluid further flows to a second
fluid tank 332. Next, three second fluid pumps 342 pump the second
fluid out to a second liquid collection tank 313a, and the second
fluid is discharged from a second chassis outlet 313. When the
pressure of the second fluid tank 332 is too high or the amount of
the second fluid is too much, a part of the second fluid may enter
a second surge tank 352 for stabilization. The chassis 310 further
comprises a second fluid injection port 373 and a second fluid
discharge port 374. The second fluid tank 332 is connected to the
second fluid injection port 373 and the second fluid discharge port
374 at the same time. User may supply the second fluid of the
cooling system 30 via the second fluid injection port 373. When the
amount of the second fluid in the cooling system 30 is too much or
the second fluid needs to be discharged, the second fluid may be
discharged from the cooling system 30 via the second fluid
discharge port 374.
[0025] A cooling fluid may enter a third filter device 363 via a
cooling fluid inlet 316. The cooling fluid flows into the heat
exchanger 320 after being filtered. After the cooling fluid in the
heat exchanger 320 absorbs the heat from the first fluid and the
second fluid to make its temperature rise, the cooling fluid is
discharged from the cooling fluid outlet 315 of the chassis
310.
[0026] When the cooling system 30 is operated, similar to the
embodiment in FIG. 1, the cooling system 30 may be assembled with
the server 20 in FIG. 1 to construct a servo architecture. When the
arrangement of the server 20 and the cooling system 30 is
assembled, the cooling system 30 and the server 20 may be linked up
by pipelines. Furthermore, the first fluid may flow into the first
fluid tank 331 via the first fluid injection port 371, and the
second fluid may flow into the second fluid tank 332 via the second
fluid injection port 373. When the arrangement of the server 20
(shown in FIG. 1) and the cooling system 30 is adjusted or
disassembled, the first fluid in the first fluid tank 331 may be
discharged via the first fluid discharge port 373 and the second
fluid in the second fluid tank 332 may be discharged via the second
fluid discharge port 374 before the pipelines between the server 20
and the cooling system 30 are disassembled. Therefore, User may
assemble the modular cooling system 30 and server 20 according to
design or operating requirements as well as take apart the modular
cooling system 30 and server 20 according to design or operating
requirements.
[0027] To sum up, in the cooling system according to the
disclosure, the chassis and the heat exchanger form the modular
cooling system together. When the servo architecture formed by the
cooling system and the server is constructed, the modular cooling
system may be switched easily for adjusting the number of the
cooling systems and the servers with good flexibility. During
disposing the added servers, only the cooling systems are further
disposed instead of manufacturing another data center, such that
enough cooling ability may be achieved. Moreover, the cooling
system and the server may also be transported separately for being
arranged in different data center. When the servers needs to be
further disposed, only the cooling system and the server is moved
from a small data center to a large data center instead of
manufacturing another new data center and air conditioning system.
Furthermore, the cooling system according to the disclosure may be
in thermal contact with the electronic device of the server via the
second loading pipe. Compared to the conventional method for
indirectly cooling ambient temperature by an air conditioning
system, the cooling method of the cooling system according to the
disclosure is to take the heat from electronic device away
directly. Also, the cooling system according to the disclosure does
not include and high-power-consuming compressor. Therefore, when
the temperature of the electronic device is reduced to the same
level, the cooling system according to the invention may save more
power energy.
[0028] The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of
the invention has been presented only for the purposes of
illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive
or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many
modifications and variations are possible in light of the above
teaching.
[0029] The embodiments were chosen and described in order to
explain the principles of the invention and their practical
application so as to activate others skilled in the art to utilize
the invention and various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in
the art to which the present invention pertains without departing
from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the present
invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the
foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described
therein.
* * * * *