Power supply adapter plate, rack-mounted server mainboard and rack-mounted server

Abstract

The utility model relates to a power supply adapter plate, a rack-mounted server mainboard and a rack-mounted server. The power supply adapter plate comprises a substrate; the power connector female head is arranged on the top surface of the substrate and is used for being connected with a power supply unit; the power output contact is arranged on the top surface of the substrate; and the at least two first bus bars are arranged on the top surface of the substrate and have opposite polarities, the end parts of the first bus bars are electrically connected with the power supply connector female head, and the tail parts of the first bus bars are electrically connected with the power supply output contact, so that a path between the power supply connector female head and the power supply output contact is formed. By adopting the power supply adapter plate, the development period can be shortened and the consumption of manpower and material resources can be reduced when business scene changes are handled.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of PCB board design, and in particular to a power adapter board, a rack-mounted server motherboard, and a rack-mounted server. Background Art

[0002] Rack-mount servers typically feature standardized dimensions, including 1U, 2U, 3U, and 4U. Standardized rack-mount servers can be compactly installed in cabinets, maximizing space utilization. They are particularly well-suited for environments with limited space and high-density computing requirements, and are therefore widely used in data centers and enterprise-level server rooms.

[0003] However, the standardized structural design of rack servers results in poor scalability and a limited scope of business applications. For example, the original rack server was a 2U rack server with moderate storage and computing power. When the business scenario changes to higher-density computing requirements or non-standard applications, the 2U rack server's expansion space is insufficient to accommodate additional hardware, such as storage devices, CPUs (Central Processing Units), and GPUs (Graphics Processing Units).

[0004] As business scenarios change, larger rack servers are needed. Furthermore, rack server motherboards adapted to these changing scenarios are needed, such as developing power adapter boards based on existing rack server motherboards. However, developing power adapter boards presents significant challenges. Utility Model Content

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide a power adapter board that can shorten the development cycle and reduce the consumption of manpower and material resources to cope with changes in business scenarios.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a power adapter board, comprising:

[0007] substrate;

[0008] A power connector female head provided on the top surface of the substrate, for connecting to a power supply unit;

[0009] A power output contact is provided on the top surface of the substrate;

[0010] At least two first bus bars with opposite polarities are arranged on the top surface of the substrate, the ends of the first bus bars are electrically connected to the female head of the power connector, and the tails of the first bus bars are electrically connected to the power output contacts, so as to form a path between the female head of the power connector and the power output contacts.

[0011] In one embodiment, the device further comprises at least two screw holes for threaded connection with the air guide cover; the screw holes are provided on one side of the first bus bar;

[0012] In the current flow direction of the path, the end of the first bus bar is located on the left side of one screw hole, and the tail of the first bus bar is located on the right side of another screw hole;

[0013] Wherein, the air guide cover is used to dissipate heat for the power connector female head.

[0014] In one embodiment, the first bus bar further includes a through hole; the first bus bar further includes a pin;

[0015] The pins pass through the power adapter board through the through holes.

[0016] In one embodiment, a signal connector male head is further provided on one side of the substrate, and the thickness of the power adapter board meets the thickness requirement of the signal connector male head.

[0017] In one embodiment, the substrate includes multiple circuit board layers stacked on each other; the circuit board layers include two signal layers, a top surface, a bottom surface, and multiple power / ground layers.

[0018] In one embodiment, a plurality of copper sheets are further laid on the top surface and the bottom surface of the substrate.

[0019] In one embodiment, the power output contact is a bright copper surface for electrically connecting to the second bus bar;

[0020] The second bus bar is used to transmit the current input by the power supply unit to the original rack-mounted server motherboard; and the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

[0021] In one embodiment, it further includes an auxiliary signal connector arranged on the top surface of the substrate, which is used to transmit signals between the power supply unit and the original rack-mounted server motherboard; the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

[0022] In a second aspect, the present application also provides a rack-mounted server motherboard, comprising the power adapter board as described above.

[0023] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a rack-mounted server, which includes the rack-mounted server motherboard as described above.

[0024] The power adapter board includes a baseboard, a female power connector disposed on the top surface of the baseboard, power output contacts disposed on the top surface of the baseboard, and at least two first busbars of opposite polarity disposed on the top surface of the baseboard. The first busbars can improve the current carrying capacity of the power adapter board, thereby ensuring that the current carrying capacity of the power adapter board can meet the power consumption requirements. This shortens the development cycle and reduces the consumption of manpower and material resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the conventional technology, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the conventional technology descriptions. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0026] Figure 1 This application relates to a 4U rack-mounted server.

[0027] Figure 2 A power adapter board according to an embodiment;

[0028] Figure 3 This is another embodiment of a power adapter board.

[0029] Description of reference numerals:

[0030] 100, 4U rack-mount server chassis; 102, 2U rack-mount server motherboard; 104, female signal connector; 106, power adapter board; 1062, baseboard; 1064, female power connector; 1066, power output contact; 1068, first bus bar; 302, screw hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] To facilitate understanding of the present application, the present application will be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings provide embodiments of the present application. However, the present application may be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make the disclosure of the present application more thorough and comprehensive.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application pertains. The terms used herein in the specification of this application are for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and are not intended to limit this application.

[0033] It is understood that the terms "first," "second," and the like used herein may be used to describe various elements herein, but these elements are not limited by these terms. These terms are used solely to distinguish a first element from another element. For example, a first bus bar may be referred to as a second bus bar, and similarly, a second bus bar may be referred to as a first bus bar, without departing from the scope of this application. The first bus bar and the second bus bar are both bus bars, but they are not the same bus bar.

[0034] It can be understood that the “connection” in the following embodiments should be understood as “electrical connection”, “communication connection”, etc. if there is transmission of electrical signals or data between the connected circuits, modules, units, etc.

[0035] When used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" may also include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the terms "include / comprise" or "have" and the like specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0036] As noted in the background, changing business scenarios necessitate the use of larger rack-mount servers. Furthermore, rack-mount server motherboards adapted to these changing business scenarios are being developed, such as power adapter boards based on existing rack-mount server motherboards. However, developing power adapter boards presents significant challenges.

[0037] In the face of this difficulty, technicians in traditional technologies often choose to avoid it and instead choose to develop a new rack-mounted server motherboard to adapt to the changed business scenarios. However, when developing a new rack-mounted server motherboard, the development cycle is long and consumes huge manpower and material resources.

[0038] In this regard, the applicant's research found that as business scenarios change to higher-density computing requirements or non-standard applications, the changed business scenarios have higher power consumption requirements. However, due to the size and structure of rack-mounted servers, the size and structure of power adapter boards are also limited.

[0039] For example, the original rack server is a 2U rack server, and the rack server after the business scenario changes is a 4U rack server. Figure 1 As shown, 100 is a 4U rack-mounted server chassis, 102 is a 2U rack-mounted server motherboard, 104 is a female signal connector disposed on the 2U rack-mounted server motherboard 102, and 106 is a power adapter board.

[0040] It's easy to see that the power adapter board 106 is limited by the size and structure of the 4U rack-mount server chassis 100. Compared to the 2U rack-mount server motherboard 102, its size is smaller. The current carrying capacity is affected by the cross-sectional area of the conductor: a larger cross-sectional area means a higher current carrying capacity, while a smaller cross-sectional area means a lower current carrying capacity. Due to its smaller size, the power adapter board 106's current carrying capacity is unable to meet the power consumption requirements of the 4U rack-mount server business scenario.

[0041] In order to solve the problem of insufficient flow capacity, in an exemplary embodiment, as Figure 2 As shown, the power adapter board 106 includes a substrate 1062, a power connector female 1064 disposed on the top surface of the substrate, power output contacts 1066 disposed on the top surface of the substrate, and at least two first bus bars 1068 of opposite polarity disposed on the top surface of the substrate. The first bus bars 1068 can improve the current flow capacity of the power adapter board, so that the current flow capacity of the power adapter board can meet the power consumption requirements. This shortens the development cycle and reduces the consumption of manpower and material resources.

[0042] In addition, without changing the form of the original rack server motherboard, the power adapter board meets the power consumption requirements of the entire system (including the rack server motherboard (including the original rack server motherboard and power adapter board) and other hardware (such as storage devices, CPU, GPU, etc.)) after the business scenario changes.

[0043] In addition, the layout of the power adapter board has a certain degree of scalability, and can be expanded with external hardware according to specific usage scenarios, which has strong flexibility.

[0044] The power adapter board 106 includes a substrate 1062, a power connector female 1064 disposed on the top surface of the substrate, power output contacts 1066 disposed on the top surface of the substrate, and at least two first bus bars 1068 with opposite polarities disposed on the top surface of the substrate.

[0045] The power connector female 1064 is used to connect to a power supply unit (PSU).

[0046] The power connector female head 1064 and the power connector male head of the power supply unit are plugged into each other to form a power connector unit, which is used to realize the electrical connection between the power adapter board and the power supply unit.

[0047] The number of power connector female connectors 1064 is not limited in this embodiment. For example, if four power supply units are provided, then four power connector female connectors 1064 are also provided, thereby achieving a "2+2" or "3+1" redundancy design, thereby ensuring the stability of the entire system.

[0048] The power connector unit includes but is not limited to the CRPS (Compact Redundant Power Supply) connector unit and the EPS (Entry-level Power Supply) power connector unit. When selecting a power connector, you can base your selection on the system's power consumption requirements. It's understood that the power supply unit selection must be consistent with the power connector unit selection. For example, if the power supply unit is 3 kW, then the power connector unit should also be 3 kW.

[0049] It should be noted that, in order to shorten the power supply path, preferably, the power connector male head of the power supply unit is first plugged into the power connector female head 1064 on the right side.

[0050] The end of the first bus bar 1068 is electrically connected to the power connector female 1064 , and the tail of the first bus bar 1068 is electrically connected to the power output contact 1066 , so as to form a path between the power connector female 1064 and the power output contact 1066 .

[0051] The number of the first bus bars 1068 can be set as needed and the available space of the power adapter board needs to be considered.

[0052] The current capacity of the first busbar 1068 can be designed based on the power consumption requirements of the system, and a certain degree of redundancy needs to be designed to maintain system stability. For example, when the system reaches peak power consumption, the current is 380A, and the first busbar 1068 can be designed with a current capacity of 400A.

[0053] Among them, the power output contacts 1066 are arranged in pairs, one of which is grounded and the other is connected to the power supply, which can be designed as a "1+1" redundancy.

[0054] Exemplarily, the current output by the power supply unit flows from the power connector female 1064 into the power adapter board, flows out from the power output contact 1066 through the positive first bus bar 1068 and returns to the power adapter board, and then flows back from the power connector female 1064 to the power supply unit through the negative first bus bar 1068, forming a closed loop.

[0055] In addition, other power connector females 1064 may be provided on the power adapter board to power the expansion hardware. Other power connector females include, but are not limited to, switch board power connectors, LP (Low Profile) card (also known as short card) power connectors, and double-width GPU power connectors. Each other power connector female can be positioned based on its occupied space and the available space on the power adapter board, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions.

[0056] In one embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the power adapter plate further includes at least two screw holes 302 for threaded connection with the air guide cover; the screw holes 302 are provided on one side of the first bus bar 1068, and in the current flow direction of the path, the end of the first bus bar 1068 is located on the left side of one screw hole 302, and the tail of the first bus bar 1068 is located on the right side of the other screw hole 302;

[0057] The air guide cover is used to dissipate heat for the power connector female 1064 .

[0058] In this embodiment, the first bus bar 1068 can be a copper bus bar, an aluminum bus bar, etc.

[0059] As can be understood, the power adapter board is a PCB. Because PCBs are relatively thin, screw holes 302 are typically designed as through-holes to ensure the strength of the threaded connection. However, a through-hole penetrating the PCB inevitably weakens the PCB's current carrying capacity because current flowing through the through-hole cannot flow and instead bypasses it, effectively creating a short circuit in the area where screw hole 302 is located.

[0060] Therefore, in this embodiment, a bridging method is used, that is, the first bus bar 1068 spans the two screw holes 302, thereby connecting the left side of one screw hole 302 with the right side of the other screw hole 302, avoiding flow through the area where the screw hole 302 is located, and instead allowing flow through the first bus bar 1068, thereby further improving the current flow capacity of the power adapter board.

[0061] In one embodiment, the power adapter board further includes a through hole; the first bus bar 1068 further includes a pin; and the pin passes through the power adapter board through the through hole.

[0062] In this embodiment, in addition to passing current through the copper sheet arranged on the top surface of the power adapter board, the first bus bar 1068 also passes current through at least the copper sheet arranged on the bottom surface of the power adapter board, thereby further improving the current-carrying capacity of the power adapter board.

[0063] In one embodiment, the power adapter board further includes a signal connector male head disposed on one side of the substrate 1062 , and the thickness of the power adapter board meets the thickness requirement of the signal connector male head.

[0064] The signal connector includes but is not limited to a Gen-Z connector (a connector that complies with the Gen-Z high-speed interconnection standard), a customized connector, and a connector of other high-speed interconnection standards different from the Gen-Z high-speed interconnection standard.

[0065] In this embodiment, the male signal connector is located on the upper left side of the power adapter board and mates with the female signal connector on the original rack-mount server motherboard to transmit high-speed signals. The thickness of the male signal connector is regulated. For example, if the signal connector is a Gen-Z connector, the thickness is 1.57mm.

[0066] The male head of the signal connector is used to transfer the control signal of the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) to the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

[0067] In summary, both the size limitation and the thickness limitation undoubtedly bring great difficulties to the PCB design of the power adapter board. The above embodiments can solve this problem, thereby providing a certain reference value for the design of small-size, high-power-density thin boards.

[0068] In one embodiment, the substrate 1062 includes multiple circuit board layers stacked one on top of the other; the circuit board layers include two signal layers, a top surface, a bottom surface, and multiple power / ground layers.

[0069] The signal layer is used to transmit signals, and the power / ground layer is used to transmit current. The top and bottom surfaces are outer layers, while the signal layer and power / ground layer are inner layers. The power / ground layer is the power or ground layer. Furthermore, to prevent electrical interference with the signal layer, the power and signal layers must be separated.

[0070] For example, the more power / ground layers there are, the better the current flow capacity of the power adapter board. However, due to thickness limitations, there is an upper limit on the number of layers. For example, if the circuit board has 12 layers, in addition to the two signal layers, the top surface, and the bottom surface, it can include 8 power / ground layers.

[0071] In one embodiment, a plurality of copper sheets are laid on the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate 1062. That is, the copper sheets increase the cross-sectional area of the conductor, thereby further improving the current carrying capacity of the power adapter board.

[0072] In one embodiment, the power output contacts 1066 include but are not limited to press-fit contacts and bright copper surfaces.

[0073] The power output contact 1066 is used to electrically connect to the second bus bar;

[0074] The second bus bar is used to transmit the current input by the power supply unit to the original rack-mounted server motherboard; the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

[0075] In one embodiment, the power adapter board further includes an auxiliary signal connector disposed on the top surface of the substrate 1062 for transmitting signals between the power supply unit and the original rack-mounted server motherboard; the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

[0076] The auxiliary signal connector includes but is not limited to an AUX (Auxiliary, auxiliary interface) connector and a customized connector.

[0077] For example, the signal transmitted by the power supply unit to the original rack server motherboard is a PG (Power Good) signal, which indicates that the power supply unit has stabilized and is ready to power the motherboard. The signal transmitted by the original rack server motherboard to the power supply unit is a PM (Power Management) signal, which is used to control and manage the system's power status, such as standby, hibernation, and wakeup.

[0078] It is understandable that the power adapter board can also be in other forms, not limited to the forms mentioned in the above embodiments, as long as it can achieve the function of improving the flow capacity.

[0079] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a rack-mounted server motherboard including the aforementioned power adapter board. The implementation solution provided by this rack-mounted server motherboard is similar to the implementation solution described in the aforementioned power adapter board. Therefore, the specific limitations of this embodiment can be found in the above-mentioned limitations on the power adapter board and will not be further elaborated here.

[0080] Based on the same inventive concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a rack server including a rack server motherboard. The implementation solution provided by this rack server is similar to the implementation solution described in the aforementioned original rack server motherboard. Therefore, the specific limitations of this embodiment can be found in the above-mentioned limitations on the rack server motherboard and will not be further elaborated here.

[0081] In the description of this specification, reference to the terms "one embodiment," "another embodiment," etc., means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. In this specification, the schematic descriptions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0082] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0083] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation methods of the present application. While the descriptions are relatively specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present application. It should be noted that a person of ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and improvements without departing from the spirit of the present application, and these modifications and improvements fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A power adapter board, characterized in that: include: substrate; A power connector female head provided on the top surface of the substrate, for connecting to a power supply unit; A power output contact is provided on the top surface of the substrate; At least two first bus bars with opposite polarities are arranged on the top surface of the substrate, the ends of the first bus bars are electrically connected to the female head of the power connector, and the tails of the first bus bars are electrically connected to the power output contacts, so as to form a path between the female head of the power connector and the power output contacts.

2. The power adapter board according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes at least two screw holes for threaded connection with the air guide cover; the screw holes are arranged on one side of the first bus bar; In the current flow direction of the path, the end of the first bus bar is located on the left side of one screw hole, and the tail of the first bus bar is located on the right side of another screw hole; Wherein, the air guide cover is used to dissipate heat for the power connector female head.

3. The power adapter board according to claim 1, wherein: Also includes a through hole; the first bus bar also includes a pin; The pins pass through the power adapter board through the through holes.

4. The power adapter board according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a signal connector male head arranged on one side of the substrate, and the thickness of the power adapter board meets the thickness requirement of the signal connector male head.

5. The power adapter board according to claim 1, characterized in that: The substrate includes multiple circuit board layers stacked on each other; the circuit board layers include two signal layers, a top surface, a bottom surface, and multiple power supply / ground layers.

6. The power adapter board according to claim 5, characterized in that: The top surface and the bottom surface of the substrate are also paved with a plurality of copper sheets.

7. The power adapter board according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power output contact is a bright copper surface, which is used to electrically connect to the second bus bar; The second bus bar is used to transmit the current input by the power supply unit to the original rack-mounted server motherboard; and the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

8. The power adapter board according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes an auxiliary signal connector arranged on the top surface of the substrate, which is used to transmit signals between the power supply unit and the original rack-mounted server motherboard; the power adapter board is used to enhance the hardware expansion capability of the original rack-mounted server motherboard.

9. A rack-mounted server motherboard, characterized in that: It comprises the power adapter plate according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A rack-mounted server, characterized in that: It includes the rack-mounted server mainboard as claimed in claim 9.

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