Cooling systems and methods for electronic equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a cooling system and cooling method that efficiently cools electronic equipment using a refrigerant and can raise the temperature of the refrigerant after waste heat recovery to a temperature that is more easily reused. [Solution] A system for cooling electronic equipment including multiple processing units and a processing load distributor that calculates the amount of computational load to be distributed to the multiple processing units and causes the multiple processing units to perform calculations, comprising: a water channel for inputting and outputting a cooling medium to each heat sink provided for each processing unit; multiple variable valves provided for each processing unit for adjusting the input amount of the cooling medium; multiple input-side temperature sensors for measuring the input temperature of the cooling medium; multiple output-side temperature sensors for measuring the output temperature of the cooling medium; and a refrigerant temperature control device, wherein the refrigerant temperature control device comprises a control unit for receiving the amount of computational load calculated by the processing load distributor, a temperature detection unit for detecting the input temperature and the output temperature, and a valve adjustment unit for adjusting the opening degree of the multiple variable valves according to the amount of computational load for each processing unit and at least the output temperature of the cooling medium.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooling system for electronic devices, and more particularly to a cooling system and a cooling method for locally cooling electronic devices such as computers and servers installed in a data center by a liquid cooling medium.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the improvement of information processing technology and the development of the Internet environment, the required amount of information processing has been increasing, and data centers for processing large amounts of various information have come into the spotlight as a business. For example, in the server room of such a data center, a large number of electronic devices such as computers and servers are installed in an aggregated state and are continuously operated day and night. Generally, the installation of electronic devices in a server room mainly adopts a rack-mount method. The rack-mount method is a method of stacking racks (enclosures) for storing electronic devices separately by function unit in a cabinet, and a large number of such cabinets are arranged in rows on the floor of the server room.

[0003] These electronic devices require a specific temperature environment for operation, and the temperature required for normal operation is set relatively low. Therefore, if these devices are exposed to high temperatures, they can cause problems such as system shutdowns. For this reason, server rooms are maintained at a constant temperature by air conditioners. However, the processing speed and capacity of these electronic devices that process information are rapidly improving, and the amount of heat generated by these devices is also steadily increasing, leading to a growing demand for improved air conditioner performance. On the other hand, in response to the growing awareness of energy conservation in recent years, there is also a growing demand for lower power consumption in air conditioners, and various technologies for efficiently cooling electronic devices are being proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioner comprising: a refrigeration cycle formed by connecting a compressor, an indoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, and an outdoor heat exchanger by refrigerant piping; a pump cycle formed by bypassing the flow of refrigerant to the compressor and circulating the refrigerant between the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger by a liquid supply device; a calculation control device that switches to operation using the pump cycle when the temperature outside where the outdoor unit housing the outdoor heat exchanger is installed becomes lower than the temperature inside where the indoor unit housing the indoor heat exchanger is installed during operation using the refrigeration cycle; and a liquid refrigerant supply device that supplies liquid refrigerant to the pump cycle. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-71955 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] As mentioned above, cooling of electronic equipment in data centers is generally carried out by air conditioners. However, the heat density of processing units such as central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) installed in electronic equipment is increasing due to high integration, and it is predicted that the heat density will increase by approximately five times in the next 10 years. In order to properly cool electronic equipment that continues to generate increasing amounts of heat, data centers are considering changing or switching from the conventional air cooling method, which uses gases such as air as a cooling medium (hereinafter referred to as refrigerant), to a water cooling (or liquid cooling) method, which uses liquids such as water as a refrigerant.

[0006] Furthermore, efforts are underway to reuse the heat generated from electronic equipment in data centers (hereinafter referred to as waste heat). For example, cities such as Stockholm in Sweden, Bergen in Norway, and Hamina in Finland are considering reusing waste heat from data centers for local heating.

[0007] When considering the reuse of waste heat, in the case of air-cooled systems using air conditioners, the waste heat is first transferred to the air, which acts as a refrigerant. The waste heat is then recovered from the heated air using a heat exchanger and reused. However, in the case of air-cooled systems, data centers inherently experience drastic temperature changes in electronic equipment (specifically processing units) depending on the data processing load. Therefore, the air is controlled to a sufficiently low temperature and circulated to cool the electronic equipment, anticipating the highest possible temperature. As a result, the waste heat diffuses into a large volume of low-temperature air, making it difficult for the air temperature to rise. In addition, the thermal resistance from the processing units (heat-generating elements) to the air is high, and the temperature rise of the air itself is low. Consequently, the temperature of the recovered waste heat is not sufficient for reuse, limiting the available reuse options. Furthermore, during the process of recovering waste heat, heat is absorbed from the air by various structural elements within the server room, resulting in approximately 50% or less of the waste heat available for recovery. This leads to low waste heat recovery capacity and insufficient business viability for reuse.

[0008] On the other hand, the water-cooled system has the advantage of efficiently recovering waste heat by directly transferring heat from the heat-generating element to the refrigerant water. In the case of the water-cooled system, the hot water recovered from waste heat is expected to be used for purposes such as heating buildings, swimming pools, or businesses and industries that utilize hot water. However, similar to the waste heat that can be recovered in the air-cooled system, if the temperature of the hot water recovered from waste heat does not rise to a certain level, the reuse options will be limited, and the business viability will not be sufficient.

[0009] This invention has been made in view of these problems, and aims to provide a cooling system and cooling method that employs a water cooling method to efficiently cool electronic equipment, and that can raise the temperature of the refrigerant (hot water) used for cooling, which has absorbed waste heat, to a temperature that is more easily reused. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention includes several means for solving at least some of the above problems, one example of which is as follows. That is, a cooling system for cooling electronic equipment comprising a plurality of processing units and a processing load distributor that calculates the amount of processing load to be distributed to the plurality of processing units and causes the plurality of processing units to perform calculations according to the amount of processing load, comprising: a water channel for inputting and outputting a liquid cooling medium to each heat sink provided for each processing unit; a plurality of variable valves provided for each processing unit for adjusting the amount of the cooling medium input to the heat sink; a plurality of input-side temperature sensors provided for each processing unit for measuring the input temperature of the cooling medium input to the heat sink; a plurality of output-side temperature sensors provided for each processing unit for measuring the output temperature of the cooling medium output from the heat sink; and a cooling medium temperature control device, wherein the cooling medium temperature control device comprises: a control unit for receiving the amount of processing load for each processing unit calculated by the processing load distributor; a temperature detection unit for detecting the input temperature and output temperature of the cooling medium for each processing unit measured by the plurality of input-side temperature sensors and the plurality of output-side temperature sensors; and a valve adjustment unit for individually adjusting the opening degree of the plurality of variable valves according to the amount of processing load for each processing unit and at least the output temperature of the cooling medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, by controlling the temperature of the refrigerant (hot water) after waste heat recovery to a temperature that is more suitable for reuse, it is possible to improve the business viability of waste heat reuse.

[0012] Other issues, configurations, and effects not mentioned above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the cooling system in the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the electronic device to be cooled in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] This is a configuration diagram showing the state in which a cooling system is installed on the electronic device in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the configuration of a refrigerant temperature control device in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the refrigerant temperature control procedure by the cooling system and refrigerant temperature control device in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the processing procedure for calculation execution by a computing load distributor in an electronic device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7A] This figure shows the relationship between the computational load of the processing unit and the opening degree of the variable valve in the first embodiment. [Figure 7B] This figure shows the relationship between the computational load of the processing unit and the opening degree of the variable valve in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the refrigerant temperature control procedure by the cooling system and refrigerant temperature control device in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments are illustrative examples for explaining the present invention, and have been omitted and simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. The present invention can also be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

[0015] The position, size, shape, and extent of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, and extent in order to facilitate understanding of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, and extent disclosed in the drawings. When there are multiple components having the same or similar function, they may be described using the same reference numeral with different subscripts. Furthermore, when it is not necessary to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted in the description.

[0016] In the embodiments, the processing performed by executing a program may be described. Here, a computer executes a program by a processor (e.g., CPU, GPU), and performs the processing defined by the program while using a storage resource (e.g., memory) and an interface device (e.g., communication port), etc. Therefore, the entity performing the processing by executing the program may be the processor. Similarly, the entity performing the processing by executing the program may be a controller, a device, a system, a computer, or a node having a processor.

[0017] The entity performing the processing by executing the program may be an arithmetic unit, and may include a dedicated circuit for performing a specific processing. Here, the dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), etc.

[0018] The program may be installed in the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a storage medium readable by the computer. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server includes a processor and a storage resource for storing the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. Also, in the embodiments, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

Example

[0019] The cooling system in the first embodiment employs a water cooling method to cool CPUs, GPUs, etc. (hereinafter referred to as processing units) mounted on electronic devices such as computers and servers installed in a data center using water as a coolant. Furthermore, the cooling system controls the temperature so that the temperature of the water, which is warmed by the heat transferred from the processing unit, is approximately 80°C to 100°C, which is the maximum rated temperature of the processing unit's junction. An example of such a cooling system will be described in detail below.

[0020] Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a cooling system in the first embodiment. In Figure 1, the cooling system 1 consists of a refrigerant temperature control device 10, a plurality of variable valves (variable valves 21-26), a plurality of input-side temperature sensors (temperature sensors 31-36), a plurality of output-side temperature sensors (temperature sensors 41-46), a plurality of waterway switches (waterway switches 51-53), and a plurality of pumps (pumps 61, 62). Also in Figure 1, solid lines represent piping (waterways) through which the refrigerant flows, and dotted lines represent wiring for the refrigerant temperature control device 10 to control each component.

[0021] Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of the electronic device to be cooled in the first embodiment. In Figure 2, the electronic device 2 consists of a computing load distributor 71 and a plurality of processing units 91 to 96, and each processing unit is provided with a heat sink 81 to 86 for dissipating the generated heat to the coolant. Also in Figure 2, the dashed lines indicate the wiring that the computing load distributor 71 uses to distribute the computing load to each processing unit and to issue instructions to start the execution of calculations.

[0022] Figure 3 is a configuration diagram showing the state in which the cooling system 1 is installed on the electronic device 2. In Figure 3, the double dotted arrows indicate the wiring for bidirectional communication between the refrigerant temperature control device 10 and the computing load distributor 71. In Figures 1 to 3, the electronic device 2 is equipped with six processing units 91 to 96, and the cooling system 1 is shown as an example configured to cool the six processing units 91 to 96, each equipped with six variable valves 21 to 26, input-side temperature sensors 31 to 36, output-side temperature sensors 41 to 46, three waterway switches 51 to 53, and two pumps 61 and 62. However, the number of each component is not limited to these, and the cooling system 1 can be configured to cool even more processing units. Also, the number of processing units mounted on one electronic device 2 is not limited to six; it may be six or more, or six or less. For example, processing units 91 to 96 may be mounted on two or more electronic devices 2.

[0023] In Figures 1 and 3, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 detects the refrigerant temperature measured by input temperature sensors 31-36 and output temperature sensors 41-46, as described later, and adjusts the opening degree of the variable valves 21-26 according to the respective refrigerant temperatures. It also controls the switching of water channels by water channel switches 51-53 and the operation and stopping of pumps 61 and 62. Variable valves 21-26 are provided for each processing unit to be cooled and adjust the amount of refrigerant input to the heat sinks 81-86. Input temperature sensors 31-36 and output temperature sensors 41-46 are also provided for each processing unit. Input temperature sensors 31-36 measure the temperature of the refrigerant input to the heat sinks 81-86, and output temperature sensors 41-46 measure the temperature of the refrigerant output from the heat sinks 81-86. When the refrigerant is sent to the water channels from pumps 61 and 62, it is in the state of cooling water. On the other hand, the processing units 91-96 generate heat in proportion to the amount of computational load distributed by the computational load distributor 71, and this heat is dissipated to the coolant via the heat sinks 81-86. Therefore, the coolant is in a state that can be described as hot water when it is output from the heat sinks 81-86. In the examples shown in Figures 1 and 3, the variable valves 21-26 are positioned closer to the processing units 91-96 than the input-side temperature sensors 31-36, but the order of arrangement does not matter, and the input-side temperature sensors 31-36 may be positioned closer to the processing units 91-96 than the variable valves 21-26.

[0024] In the example shown in Figures 1 and 3, pumps 61 and 62 are located in a ratio of one pump for every three processing units, positioned before the input waterway to each processing unit. They are capable of supplying refrigerant to the input waterways of the three processing units via waterway switches 51 and 52. In the example shown in Figures 1 and 3, waterway switches 51 to 53 can switch between the input waterways to three processing units and the output waterways to the other three processing units, according to several patterns. For example, when both pumps 61 and 62 are operating, waterway switches 51 and 52 connect each pump to the waterway so that the refrigerant supplied from each pump flows to the input waterways of processing units 91 to 93 and processing units 94 to 96, respectively. If pump 62 is stopped, the water channel switches 51 and 52 switch the water channels so that the refrigerant supplied from pump 61 also flows to the input water channels for the treatment devices 94-96 (by disconnecting pump 62 and connecting pump 61 to the input water channels for treatment devices 91-93 and treatment devices 94-96, respectively). Furthermore, the water channel switches 51 and 52 can also switch the water channels so that the refrigerant output from heat sinks 81-83 flows directly to the input water channels for the treatment devices 94-96 (by disconnecting pump 62 and connecting the output water channels for treatment devices 91-93 to the input water channels for treatment devices 94-96).

[0025] Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of the refrigerant temperature control device 10 in the first embodiment. In Figure 4, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 comprises a control unit 11, a valve adjustment unit 12, a temperature detection unit 13, a waterway switching unit 14, and a pump switching unit 15. The control unit 11 controls the operation of the entire refrigerant temperature control device 10 and communicates with the computing load distributor 71 in the electronic equipment 2. The valve adjustment unit 12 adjusts the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26. The temperature detection unit 13 detects the temperatures measured by the input-side temperature sensors 31 to 36 and the output-side temperature sensors 41 to 46, respectively. The waterway switching unit 14 controls the switching of waterways by the waterway switches 51 to 53. The pump switching unit 15 controls the operation and stopping of the pumps 61 and 62.

[0026] Figure 5 shows an example of the refrigerant temperature control procedure by the cooling system 1 and the refrigerant temperature control device 10. Figure 6 shows an example of the calculation execution procedure by the computing load distributor 71 in the electronic device 2. As will be explained below, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 communicates with the computing load distributor 71 and controls the refrigerant temperature while both proceed with their respective processes.

[0027] First, in Figure 6, at S201, the computing load distributor 71 receives a request to execute a calculation from a user of the electronic device 2 (for example, if the electronic device 2 is installed in the server room of the data center, a user outside the data center). The computing load distributor 71 sends a notification of receipt of the calculation execution request to the refrigerant temperature control device 10. Next, in Figure 5, at S101, the control unit 11 of the refrigerant temperature control device 10 receives the notification of receipt from the computing load distributor 71. At S102, the temperature detection unit 13 detects the refrigerant input / output temperatures for each processing unit, which are measured by the input-side temperature sensors 31-36 and the output-side temperature sensors 41-46, respectively. The control unit 11 transmits the refrigerant input / output temperatures (detection results) detected by the temperature detection unit 13 to the computing load distributor 71.

[0028] In Figure 6, at S202, the computing load distributor 71 receives the detection result (refrigerant input / output temperature for each processing unit). Then, at S203, the computing load distributor 71 calculates the amount of computing load to distribute to each processing unit (the amount of computing load for each processing unit) according to the received refrigerant input / output temperature. The computing load distributor 71 transmits the calculation result to the refrigerant temperature control device 10. In Figure 5, at S103, the control unit 11 receives the calculation result from the computing load distributor 71. Subsequently, at S104, the valve adjustment unit 12 individually adjusts the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26 according to the calculation result of the amount of computing load for each processing unit that it has received.

[0029] As described above, the cooling system in this embodiment controls the temperature so that the refrigerant output temperature (refrigerant output temperature) is approximately 80°C to 100°C, for example, which is the maximum rating of the junction temperature of the processing unit. Therefore, the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26 is adjusted according to the computational load of each processing unit to an opening degree that is expected to result in a refrigerant output temperature of approximately 80°C to 100°C for each processing unit. Figures 7A and 7B show the relationship between the computational load of the processing unit and the opening degree of the variable valves. Figure 7A shows that the opening degree of the variable valves that does not exceed the maximum value of the junction temperature and results in a refrigerant output temperature of approximately 80°C is proportional to the computational load of the processing unit, and also shows the control range of the opening degree of the variable valves. The valve adjustment unit 12 can determine and safely adjust the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26 according to the computational load of each processing unit within the control range shown in Figure 7A. The valve adjustment unit 12 may calculate the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26 each time based on the calculation result of the computational load of each processing unit, based on the proportional equation of the graph shown in Figure 7A, or it may store the opening degree of the variable valve corresponding to the computational load of the processing unit in the memory of the refrigerant temperature control device 10 (not shown), and read the opening degree of the variable valves 21 to 26 corresponding to the calculation result of the computational load of each processing unit from the memory.

[0030] Returning to Figure 5, when the valve adjustment unit 12 completes the adjustment of the opening degrees of the variable valves 21 to 26 in S104, the control unit 11 sends a completion notification to the computing load distributor 71. In Figure 6, when the computing load distributor 71 receives the completion notification from the refrigerant temperature control device 10 in S204, it instructs each processing unit to start calculation execution in S205. As a result, each processing unit performs calculations according to the allocated computing load.

[0031] Meanwhile, in Figure 5, at S105, the temperature detection unit 13 detects the refrigerant output temperature measured by the output-side temperature sensors 41-46 for each processing unit after the start of calculation execution by each processing unit (during calculation execution). In the following S106, the control unit 11 determines whether the refrigerant output temperature for each processing unit exceeds the specified temperature of 80°C. For example, if it determines that the refrigerant output temperature for all processing units 91-96 exceeds the specified temperature, at S107, the control unit 11 transmits the determination result to the calculation load distributor 71. In Figure 6, at S207, upon receiving the determination result, the calculation load distributor 71 repeats the process from S201 onwards in Figure 6 so that the calculation load for each processing unit is maintained (therefrigerant output temperature or heat generation for each processing unit is maintained). Similarly, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 also repeats the process from S101 onwards so that the refrigerant output temperature for each processing unit is maintained.

[0032] In S106, if the control unit 11 determines that the refrigerant output temperature has not reached the specified temperature for some or all of the processing units, the valve adjustment unit 12 readjusts the opening degree of the variable valves in S108 for the processing units that have been determined to have not reached the specified temperature (temperature-under-reached processing units). For example, if processing units 91 and 93 are determined to be temperature-under-reached processing units, the valve adjustment unit 12 readjusts the opening degrees of the variable valves 21 and 23. Increasing the opening degree of the variable valves increases the amount of refrigerant input, which cools the processing units more, but makes it more difficult for the refrigerant output temperature to rise. On the other hand, decreasing the opening degree of the variable valves reduces the amount of refrigerant input, which causes the refrigerant output temperature to rise. Therefore, the valve adjustment unit 12 readjusts the opening degree of the variable valves corresponding to the temperature-under-reached processing units to decrease.

[0033] For example, as shown in Figure 7B, if the variable valve was initially adjusted to an opening degree A that is expected to result in a refrigerant output temperature of approximately 80°C for a given computation load X of the temperature failure processing device, and the detected refrigerant output temperature is 70°C, then the variable valve opening degree is readjusted to B, which is smaller than A, so that the refrigerant output temperature rises by approximately 10°C (the variable valve is closed to opening degree B). The valve adjustment unit 12 may calculate the variable valve opening degree during readjustment based on the difference between the refrigerant output temperature and the specified temperature or the ratio between the refrigerant output temperature and the specified temperature, so as to move along the proportional graph shown in Figure 7B within a range that does not exceed the maximum junction temperature, or it may repeat the readjustment procedure (i.e., the procedure from S105 onwards) for each smallest unit of opening degree that the valve adjustment unit 12 can control (e.g., 0.1 degrees).

[0034] However, since closing the variable valve, that is, preventing refrigerant input, while the processing unit is operating (performing calculations) is not possible from the standpoint of stable operation of the processing unit, a minimum opening degree is predetermined as the specified opening degree. Therefore, in S109, the valve adjustment unit 12 determines whether the readjusted opening degree is less than the specified opening degree. If the readjusted opening degree is not less than the specified opening degree, the processing procedure from S105 onward is repeated for the temperature failure processing unit so that the refrigerant output temperature exceeds the specified temperature.

[0035] In S109, if the valve adjustment unit 12 determines that the readjusted opening is less than the specified opening, the control unit 11 sends a request to the computational load distributor 71 in S110 to recalculate the computational load amount of the temperature under-temperature processing device, because readjusting the opening of the variable valve will not bring the refrigerant output temperature to the specified temperature. In Figure 6, in S206, when the computational load distributor 71 receives a request from the refrigerant temperature control device 10 to recalculate the computational load amount of the temperature under-temperature processing device, in S208 the computational load amount to be distributed to the temperature under-temperature processing device and sends the calculation result to the refrigerant temperature control device 10. After that, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 repeats the processing procedure from S103 onwards in Figure 5, and the computational load distributor 71 repeats the processing procedure from S204 onwards in Figure 6.

[0036] In S208, if the temperature failure processing unit is only a small number of processing units (for example, one processing unit), the computing load distributor 71 may recalculate only the computing load to be distributed to that processing unit, or it may recalculate the computing load in combination with other processing units that have a large computing load. On the other hand, if many or all of the processing units are temperature failure processing units, the computing load distributor 71 recalculates the computing load to be distributed to all processing units. In this case, if the total computing load of each processing unit is small to begin with, the computing load may be recalculated to be distributed to only some of the processing units. For example, the computing load may be calculated to be distributed only to processing units 91-93, and not to processing units 94-96. When such a calculation result is received in S103, before adjusting the opening degree of the variable valve in S104, the waterway switching unit 14 can control the waterway switch 52 to disconnect the waterway connected to processing units 94-96, and the pump switching unit 15 can stop the pump 62. By doing so, a sufficient computational load is distributed to some of the processing units, making it possible to increase the refrigerant output temperature.

[0037] In the explanation of the refrigerant temperature control procedure shown in Figure 5 above, an example was described in which the refrigerant output temperature is controlled to exceed a specified temperature mainly by adjusting the opening degree of each variable valve by the valve adjustment unit 12. However, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 can also control the refrigerant output temperature to rise by switching the water channels in addition to adjusting the opening degree of each variable valve. Specifically, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 executes the processing procedure shown in Figure 5 from S101 to S109, and before executing S110, the water channel switching unit 14 controls the water channel switch 52 to switch the water channel so that the refrigerant output from the heat sinks 81 to 83 flows directly into the water channel on the input side to the processing devices 94 to 96. (In this case, the pump switching unit 15 also stops the pump 62.) In this way, the refrigerant, which has been heated to a warm temperature by cooling the processing devices 91 to 93 but has not yet reached the specified temperature, is further heated by passing through the heat sinks 84 to 86 and cooling the processing devices 94 to 96, causing the refrigerant output temperature to rise. After the water channel switching process by the water channel switching unit 14, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 re-executes the processes from S105 onwards. If the refrigerant output temperature exceeds the specified temperature due to the recirculation of the refrigerant after cooling of the processing device to other processing devices, the control unit 11 executes S107. If the refrigerant output temperature does not yet exceed the specified temperature, the recirculation to other processing devices may be repeated. Note that the water channel switching process is not limited to after S109, but may be executed before or after S108, or in parallel with S108.

[0038] As described above, according to the cooling system of the first embodiment, by precisely adjusting the opening degree of the variable valve provided for each processing unit in accordance with the refrigerant input / output temperature and computation load of each processing unit, it is possible to increase or decrease the amount of refrigerant input to each processing unit and control the refrigerant output temperature to rise to a specified temperature. Furthermore, by the cooling system communicating with electronic equipment, it is possible to control the refrigerant output temperature by appropriately increasing or decreasing the amount of computation load distributed to each processing unit. In addition, by recirculating the refrigerant used to cool one processing unit to other processing units as needed, the cooling system can control the refrigerant output temperature to rise even further in conjunction with the adjustment of the variable valve opening degree. [Examples]

[0039] In cooling systems used in data centers, not only is cooling performance for electronic equipment important, but energy-saving performance is also crucial. Therefore, in the second embodiment, an example of a cooling system capable of suppressing energy consumption will be described. The configuration of the cooling system, the electronic equipment to be cooled, and the refrigerant temperature control device in the second embodiment will be the same as those shown in Figures 1 to 4. The calculation execution processing procedure in the electronic equipment will also be the same as that shown in Figure 6. In the following description, explanations of content that overlaps with the first embodiment will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

[0040] Figure 8 shows an example of the refrigerant temperature control procedure by the cooling system 1 and the refrigerant temperature control device 10 in the second embodiment. In Figure 8, steps S301 to S307 and S309 to S311 are the same as steps S101 to S107 and S108 to S110 shown in Figure 5. The procedure shown in Figure 8 differs from the procedure shown in Figure 1 in that steps S308 and S312 are newly added.

[0041] Similar to the processing procedure shown in Figure 5, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 executes S301 to S306. In S306, if the control unit 11 determines that the refrigerant output temperature for some or all of the processing devices has not reached the specified temperature, in S308, the control unit 11 calculates the energy consumption of the entire cooling system at that time and determines whether it exceeds a predetermined target value for energy consumption. The control unit 11 monitors the operating status, operating time, and power consumption of all components in the cooling system, namely the refrigerant temperature control device 10, variable valves 21 to 26, input-side temperature sensors 31 to 36, output-side temperature sensors 41 to 46, water channel switches 51 to 53, and pumps 61 and 62, and calculates the energy consumption based on these. The target value can be set in advance as any value, and may be a target value unique to the cooling system, or, if used in a data center, a target value defined as part of the overall target value for the data center. Furthermore, the target value may not only be a fixed value, but may also be a value that fluctuates according to the overall energy consumption of the data center, for example.

[0042] In S308, if the control unit 11 determines that the energy consumption of the cooling system does not exceed the target value, the refrigerant temperature control device 10 executes the processing from S309 onwards. On the other hand, in S308, if the control unit 11 determines that the energy consumption of the cooling system exceeds the target value, the process proceeds to S312 in order to suppress the energy consumption of the cooling system, and the waterway switching unit 14 and the pump switching unit 15 execute pump / waterway switching control. When the cooling system starts up, all pumps are operated, and each pump is connected to a waterway so that the refrigerant sent from each pump flows into the waterway on the input side to each processing unit. Therefore, in the pump / waterway switching control, if all pumps are operating at that time, the pump switching unit 15 stops some of the pumps, for example, pump 62. In response to the stopping of pump 62, the waterway switching unit 14 controls the waterway switch 52 to switch the waterway so that the refrigerant sent from pump 61 also flows into the waterway on the input side to processing units 94-96.

[0043] In the configuration example shown in Figure 3, only pumps 61 and 62 and water channel switches 51 to 53 are shown. However, the cooling system is equipped with many more pumps and water channel switches depending on the number of processing units. Depending on the degree to which the energy consumption exceeds the target value, the pump switching unit 15 stops one or more pumps, and the water channel switching unit 14 controls one or more water channel switches to switch the water channels.

[0044] In this way, by controlling the operation and stopping of the pump and the corresponding switching of the water channels, it is possible to suppress the energy consumption of the cooling system as needed. Note that when the pump / water channel switching control in S312 is executed, the refrigerant input / output temperature to each processing unit may change, so the refrigerant temperature control device 10 returns to S302 and restarts the subsequent processing.

[0045] As described above, the cooling system in the second embodiment offers the same effects as the first embodiment, but also reduces the energy consumption of the cooling system and enables energy-saving operation of the cooling system.

[0046] The embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the examples of embodiments described above, and includes various modifications. For example, the examples of embodiments described above are described in detail for the purpose of making the present invention easy to understand, and the present invention is not limited to having all the configurations described herein. Furthermore, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one example of an embodiment with the configuration of another example. It is also possible to add a configuration of another example to the configuration of one example of an embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of one example of each embodiment with a configuration of another example. In addition, some or all of the above configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc., may be realized in hardware, for example, by designing them as integrated circuits. Also, the control lines and information lines in the figures are shown only if they are considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all of them. It can be assumed that almost all of the configurations are interconnected. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 1…Cooling system 2…Electronic equipment 10…Refrigerant temperature control device 11…Control Unit 12…Valve adjustment section 13...Temperature detection unit 14…Waterway switching section 15... Pump switching section 21-26... Variable valve 31-36...Input side temperature sensor 41-46... Output side temperature sensor 51-53...Water channel switch 61, 62... pumps 71...Calculation load divider 81-86... Heatsink 91-96... Processing Unit

Claims

1. A cooling system for cooling electronic equipment comprising a plurality of processing units and a processing load distributor that calculates the amount of computational load to be distributed to the plurality of processing units and causes the plurality of processing units to perform calculations according to the amount of computational load, A water channel is provided for inputting and outputting a liquid cooling medium to a heat sink, which is provided for each of the aforementioned processing devices. Each of the aforementioned processing devices is provided with a plurality of variable valves that adjust the amount of the cooling medium input to the heat sink, Each of the aforementioned processing devices is provided with a plurality of input-side temperature sensors that measure the input temperature of the cooling medium that is input to the heat sink, Each of the aforementioned processing devices is provided with a plurality of output-side temperature sensors that measure the output temperature of the cooling medium output from the heat sink, A cooling medium temperature control device is provided, The cooling medium temperature control device is A control unit that receives the amount of computation load for each processing unit calculated by the computation load distributor, A temperature detection unit that detects the input temperature and output temperature of the cooling medium for each processing unit measured by the plurality of input-side temperature sensors and the plurality of output-side temperature sensors, The system includes a valve adjustment unit that individually adjusts the opening degree of the plurality of variable valves according to the computation load for each processing unit and at least the output temperature of the cooling medium, Cooling system.

2. A cooling system according to claim 1, The control unit determines whether the output temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature for each processing unit. If the valve adjustment unit determines that the output temperature for one or more of the processing devices does not exceed the predetermined temperature, it individually readjusts the opening degree of one or more of the variable valves provided for each of the one or more processing devices to reduce the opening degree. Cooling system.

3. A cooling system according to claim 1, The valve adjustment unit individually adjusts the opening degree of the plurality of variable valves according to the computation load for each processing unit and the input temperature and output temperature of the cooling medium before the start of calculation execution by each processing unit. The control unit determines, after each of the processing units has started executing calculations, whether the output temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature for each processing unit. Cooling system.

4. A cooling system according to claim 2, A plurality of pumps that supply the cooling medium to the waterway, The system further comprises a plurality of waterway switches for switching the connection between each of the aforementioned pumps and the aforementioned waterways, The cooling medium temperature control device is A pump switching unit that controls the operation or stopping of each of the aforementioned pumps, The system further comprises a channel switching unit that controls the switching of the channels by each of the channel switching devices, Cooling system.

5. A cooling system according to claim 4, Depending on the computation load for each processing unit, or according to the result of the determination by the control unit, the pump switching unit stops one or more of the pumps. In response to the stopping of one or more of the pumps, the waterway switching unit controls one or more of the waterway switches to switch the connection between the one or more pumps and the waterway. Cooling system.

6. A cooling system according to claim 4, If the control unit determines that the output temperature for one or more of the processing units does not exceed the predetermined temperature, the waterway switching unit controls one or more of the waterway switches and switches the connections of the waterways so that the cooling medium output from the heat sink provided for each of the one or more processing units is input to the heat sink provided for each of the other processing units. Cooling system.

7. A cooling system according to claim 4, The control unit determines whether the total energy consumption of the cooling system exceeds a predetermined value. If the pump switching unit determines that the energy consumption exceeds the predetermined value, it will stop one or more of the pumps. In response to the stopping of one or more of the pumps, the waterway switching unit controls one or more of the waterway switches to switch the connection between the one or more pumps and the waterway. Cooling system.

8. A cooling method for electronic equipment comprising a plurality of processing units and a processing load distributor that calculates the amount of computational load to be distributed to the plurality of processing units and causes the plurality of processing units to perform calculations according to the amount of computational load, The input temperature of the liquid cooling medium supplied to each heat sink provided for each processing apparatus is measured, and the output temperature of the cooling medium supplied from each heat sink is measured. The input temperature and the output temperature are notified to the computing load distributor. The aforementioned computing load distributor receives the amount of computing load for each processing unit calculated based on the input temperature and the output temperature, The amount of the cooling medium input to each heatsink is individually adjusted according to the computation load for each processing unit and at least according to the output temperature. Cooling method.

9. A cooling method according to claim 8, During the calculation of each of the aforementioned processing devices, the output temperature of the cooling medium is measured. For each of the aforementioned processing units, it is determined whether the output temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature. If it is determined that the output temperature for one or more of the aforementioned processing devices does not exceed the predetermined temperature, the amount of the cooling medium input to each of the one or more of the aforementioned processing devices is individually readjusted. Cooling method.

10. A cooling method according to claim 8, In the step of individually adjusting the input amount of the cooling medium to each heat sink, before the start of calculation execution by each processing unit, the input amount of the cooling medium to each heat sink is individually adjusted according to the calculation load of each processing unit and the input temperature and output temperature of the cooling medium. Cooling method.

11. A cooling method according to claim 9, If it is determined that the output temperature of one or more of the aforementioned processing units does not exceed the predetermined temperature, the cooling medium output from each of the heat sinks provided for each of the one or more aforementioned processing units is input to each of the heat sinks provided for each of the other aforementioned processing units. Cooling method.

12. A cooling method according to claim 9, Depending on the computational load for each processing unit, or according to the result of the determination, the connection between the multiple pumps that supply the cooling medium to each heat sink and the water channels through which the cooling medium flows is switched. Cooling method.

13. A cooling method according to claim 12, Determine whether the energy consumption for cooling the electronic device exceeds a predetermined value. If it is determined that the energy consumption exceeds the predetermined value, one or more of the multiple pumps will be stopped. In response to the stopping of one or more of the aforementioned pumps, the connection between the one or more of the aforementioned pumps and the waterway is switched. Cooling method.

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