An information processing center having a row of switch cabinets arranged in a container and a partition wall between a cold air passage and a warm air passage

Abstract

The present invention relates to an information processing center (1) having a row of switch cabinets (3) arranged in a container (2) and dividing a cold air aisle (5) from a hot air aisle (6) by a bulkhead (4), characterized in that at least one cooling device (7) is installed in at least one opening (8) through an outer wall (9) of the container (2), the cooling device (7) being connected to the interior of said container (2) by an internal air circuit (10) of the information processing center (1) and to the periphery of the container (2) by an external air circuit (11) of the information processing center (1), the external air circuit (11) being fluidically isolated from the internal air circuit (10), the bulkhead (4) fluidically separating a cold air outlet (12) of the internal air circuit (10) from a hot air inlet (13) of the internal air circuit (10).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention is based on an information processing center having a row of switch cabinets arranged in a container, the container having a partition wall separating a cold air passage and a warm air passage. Such an information processing center is described in European Patent No. 3 157 316. Similar information processing centers are also described in International Publication No. 2014 / 174606, US Patent Application Publication No. 2013 / 0008197, and US Patent Application Publication No. 2015 / 0245541.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0002]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] These well-known information processing centers based on containers have the drawback that there is a limit to the scalability of the cooling capacity provided. In particular, since the corresponding cooling device is usually permanently installed within this container, for example, in order to increase the cooling capacity within the scope of the expansion of the IT infrastructure in the container, for example, a row of cooling devices arranged in a row of switch cabinets needs to be replaced with another cooling device having a correspondingly suitable cooling capacity. These cooling devices are further limited with respect to the relevant cooling technology, or require a relatively long length of piping to fluidly connect an external free-cooling device or chiller to an evaporator installed in a row of switch cabinets or in the double bottom of the cooling device.

[0004] Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to further develop an information processing center of the type described at the beginning such that the information processing center has high scalability with respect to the relevant cooling technology, and in particular, for this purpose, the replacement of the cooling technology, for example, to adapt the cooling capacity, can be implemented by simple technical means.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0005] This object is solved by an information processing center having the features of the main claim. The dependent claims relate to advantageous embodiments of the present invention, respectively.

[0006] Accordingly, an information processing center is shown in which at least one cooling device is installed in at least one opening penetrating the outer wall of the container, the cooling device is connected to the internal air circuit and connected to the inside of the container, and is connected to an external air circuit fluidly separated from the internal air circuit and connected to the periphery of the container. Further, a partition wall fluidly separates the warm air intake of the internal air circuit from the cold air outlet of the internal air circuit.

[0007] As a result, for design reasons, the invention takes advantage of the situation that the container can be provided with an opening in almost any way, even later, and a cooling device with any cooling capacity can be easily installed in the opening so as to be replaceable. This cooling device can be the same as the cooling device of a switch cabinet well-known in the prior art. The cooling device can be mounted corresponding to an opening in a flat part of the housing of the switch cabinet or corresponding to the opening, whereby the internal air circuit can be associated with the inside of the switch cabinet and the external air circuit can be associated with the periphery of the housing of the switch cabinet. Depending on the design, various cooling techniques, such as free cooling, refrigerators, or a combination of both, can be incorporated into this cooling device. A cooling device particularly suitable for the invention of the present application is described, for example, in European Patent No. 2,891,396.

[0008] It is particularly preferred that the cooling device can be installed in an opening penetrating the vertical outer wall of the container. The cold air outlet can be arranged below the warm air inlet, and it is preferred that the cold air outlet is arranged vertically below the warm air inlet. This arrangement of the cold air outlet and the warm air inlet corresponds to the normal arrangement of the cooling device of the switch cabinet, in which cooled air is blown into the lower region of the housing of the switch cabinet, and after heating in the upper region of the housing of the switch cabinet and the corresponding convection, the air is sucked back into the cooling device. In one embodiment of the present invention, this arrangement of the intake and outlet of the warm air passage is used, and the cooled air corresponding to the rows of the switch cabinet in the cold air passage in the lower region is applied, and the heated air from the warm air passage in the upper region partitioned from this lower region is sucked out.

[0009] The interior of the container can be fluidly separated from the surroundings of the container, preventing the air inside the container from mixing with the air outside the container. Thus, in contrast to container solutions well-known from the prior art, ambient air that may contain impurities is not carried into the container, eliminating the need to filter the air entering the interior of the switch cabinet.

[0010] The partition can be led at least partially horizontally and / or at an acute angle to the horizontal. This partition can be optically transparent in at least the part led horizontally and / or at an acute angle to the horizontal. This is particularly advantageous when a light source emitting downward is arranged above the light-transmissive part. This light source can be arranged, as is well-known from the prior art in a container-type information processing center, particularly below the ceiling of the container. In this regard, the partition according to the invention of the information processing center does not affect the normal lighting infrastructure of the container-type information processing center in any way.

[0011] The warm air passage can extend above the rows of switch cabinets, across the rows of switch cabinets and across the entire width inside the container. In particular, the partition can be provided so as not to be adjacent to the ceiling of the container at any point. Rather, the partition can be led between the upper side of the rows of switch cabinets and the outer wall of the container, preferably the vertical side wall of the container, and in this container, at least one opening is formed, and at least one cooling device is installed at this opening. The partition at the transition to the outer wall fluidly separates the air intake opening facing the warm air passage from the air outlet opening facing the cold air passage in the cold air passage according to the method of the invention.

[0012] Accordingly, the heating passage can extend between opposite vertical outer walls of the container, with one of the outer walls having at least one opening. In particular, the heating passage can extend at least partially continuously between opposite vertical outer walls of the container.

[0013] The cold air outlet can be arranged below a portion of the partition wall extending horizontally or below a portion of the partition wall extending at an acute angle to the horizontal.

[0014] The cold air outlet can be arranged opposite the cold air inlet of the row of switch cabinets. In this case, the hot air outlet of the row of switch cabinets is preferably arranged on the side of the row of switch cabinets arranged opposite the cold air inlet of the row of switch cabinets.

[0015] In the heating passage, a horizontal air guide having at least one air duct can be arranged above the row of switch cabinets, preferably between the row of switch cabinets and the ceiling of the container, and the at least one air duct preferably leads to the hot air intake of the internal air circuit of the cooling device.

[0016] The cooling device can have an outdoor cooling system, which preferably has a heat pipe or is a heat pipe. Furthermore, the cooling device can have a refrigerator, and these outdoor cooling systems and refrigerators have separate refrigerant circuits. In particular, these two separate refrigerant circuits can be operated independently of each other according to, for example, the temperature difference between the actual temperature inside the switch cabinet and the temperature around the container, and / or can be operated independently of each other according to the cooling capacity to be provided.

[0017] These two refrigerant circuits can be controlled according to the power loss of the row of switch cabinets and the temperature around the container in a state where the outdoor cooling system has a priority, and provide the required cooling capacity.

[0018] Using the above-described type of information processing center, an integrated container solution for outdoor use can be provided. In this integrated container, the cooling device of the desired switch cabinet can be utilized very well, so that very high energy efficiency and cost efficiency can be provided for the operation of the information processing center. Because of its high scalability, it can optimally cover areas with an IT load (IT-Last) of 10 to 70 kW. In particular, compared with the conventionally well-known information processing centers, it can be prevented from becoming a divided device with complex piping and being able to respond only limitedly to changes in cooling requirements.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] Further details of the present invention are described using the following figures:

Figure 1

Figure 2

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] FIGS. 1 and 2 show an exemplary embodiment of an information processing center 1 according to the present invention, and the information processing center 1 is based on a container 2. In this case, two cooling devices 7 are installed on the vertical outer wall 9. For this installation, the outer wall 9 has two openings 8, and through each of these openings 8, the cooling device 7 extends. The cooling device 7 is fluidly connected to the inside of the container 2 using these internal air circuits 10, while these external air circuits 11 are open to the surroundings of the container 2.

[0021] The cooling device 7 can be a cooling device having an external air circuit 11 that is fluidly separated from the internal air circuit 10 and based on a hybrid cooling technology consisting of a refrigerator and a heat pipe, as described, for example, in European Patent No. 2 891 396. The cooling device has refrigerant circuits that are separated from each other and can be controlled independently of each other. For example, in order to compensate for the current power loss of the IT infrastructure housed in row 3 of the switch cabinet, depending on the situation and also, for example, as a result of energy efficiency, it makes up for the required cooling capacity.

[0022] Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows that the number of cooling devices 7 can basically be expanded as desired by additional openings 8 introduced into the outer wall 9 as required. Since the cooling devices 7 can be cooling devices of a commercially available switch cabinet, these cooling devices 7 can be individually replaced as required, enabling a highly flexible adaptation of the cooling technology, cooling capacity, and cooling efficiency of the cooling devices 7.

[0023] In FIG. 2, row 3 of the switch cabinet is housed inside the container 2 in a manner well known per se. Row 3 of the switch cabinet separates the warm air passage 6 from the cold air passage 5. In contrast to solutions known from the prior art, the partition wall 4 starts from the upper side of row 3 of the switch cabinet and is precisely guided to the outer wall 9 of the container 2 where two cooling devices 7 are installed, rather than between the upper side of row 3 of the switch cabinet and the ceiling 17 of the container 2.

[0024] The partition 4, in this case, is in exact contact with the outer wall 9 so that the cold air outlet 12 of the internal air circuit 10 is fluidly separated from the warm air inlet 13 of the internal air circuit 10. For this purpose, the partition 4 according to the invention can also be provided, in principle in a manner known from the prior art, so as to extend over the entire length of the row 3 of the switch cabinets (perpendicular to the drawing plane of FIG. 2). The cold air ejected from the internal air circuit 10 by the cold air outlet 12 of the cooling device 7 is blown directly onto the front of the cold air inlet 15 of the row 3 of the switch cabinets. Due to the excessive pressure generated in the cold air passage 5, this cold air is pushed through the row 3 of the switch cabinets, heated in the process, and blown out into the warm air passage 6 as hot air. In contrast to information processing centers known from the prior art, this warm air can reach directly the outer wall 9 having the cooling device 7 across the entire width of the container 2, in other words also across the cold air passage 5, and from there is sucked into the cooling device 7 through the warm air inlet 13 of the internal air circuit 10. After this warm air is cooled by the cooling device 7, it can be ejected again into the cold air passage 5 as cooled air in the manner described above, and pressure can be applied again to the row 3 of the switch cabinets.

[0025] The partition 4 is at least partially guided horizontally, or at an acute angle with respect to the ceiling 17 or with respect to the horizontal. The partition 4 can be formed optically transparent in at least the partially horizontal part and / or in the part guided at an acute angle with respect to the ceiling 17 or with respect to the horizontal, so as to be light-transmissive. Thereby, the partition 4 itself does not need to have a light source, and it becomes possible to use the standard light source 14 provided on the ceiling 17 in the container for the information processing center. In this regard, it is not necessary to adapt the lighting technology for using the partition 4 according to the invention.

[0026] In order to optimize the air guide above row 3 of the switch cabinet, a horizontal air guide 18 having an air duct 19 is provided between row 3 of the switch cabinet and the ceiling 17 of the container 2. The air duct 19 can be provided so as to communicate with the intake port 13 for warm air of the internal air circuit 10 of the cooling device 7, and from the side surface of row 3 of the switch cabinet having the warm air outlet 16 of row 3 of the switch cabinet, through above row 3 of the switch cabinet, the air guide 18 that guides air to the intake port 13 for warm air of the cooling device 7 on the outer wall 9 of the container 2 that separates the cold air passage 5 is optimized.

[0027] The features of the present invention disclosed in the above description, drawings, and claims can be essential for implementing the present invention both individually and in any combination.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] 1 Information processing center 2 Container 3 Row of switch cabinets 4 Partition wall 5 Cold air passage 6 Warm air passage 7 Cooling device 8 Opening 9 Outer wall 10 Internal air circuit 11 External air circuit 12 Cold air outlet 13 Intake port for warm air 14 Light source 15 Intake port for cold air 16 Warm air outlet 17 Ceiling 18 Air guide 19 Air duct

Claims

1. having a row (3) of switch cabinets, the row (3) of switch cabinets being arranged within a container (2) and separated by a partition wall (4) between a warm air passage (6) and a cold air passage (5), in an information processing center (1), at least one cooling device (7) is installed within at least one opening (8) penetrating a vertical outer wall (9) of the container (2), the cooling device (7) is connected to the interior of the container (2) by an internal air circuit (10) of the information processing center (1) and to the surroundings of the container (2) by an external air circuit (11) of the information processing center (1), the internal air circuit (10) and the external air circuit (11) form part of the cooling device (7), the external air circuit (11) is fluidically blocked from the internal air circuit (10), the partition wall (4) fluidically separates the warm air intake (13) of the internal air circuit (10) from the cold air outlet (12) of the internal air circuit (10), cold air from the cold air outlet (12) of the internal air circuit (10) is ejected into the cold air passage (5) and pushed through the row (3) of switch cabinets, being heated in the process and blown out as hot air into the warm air passage (6) and sucked into the cooling device (7) through the warm air intake (13) of the internal air circuit (10), an information processing center (1) characterized by this.

2. The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the cold air outlet (12) is arranged below the warm air intake (13).

3. The interior of the container (2) is fluidically separated from the surroundings of the container (2), such that mixing of the air inside the container (2) and the air surrounding the container (2) can be avoided, an information processing center (1) according to claim 1, characterized by this.

4. The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, wherein the partition wall (4) is at least partially guided horizontally and / or guided at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal.

5. The information processing center (1) according to claim 4, wherein the partition wall (4) is optically transparent in the at least partially horizontally guided portion and / or the portion guided at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal.

6. The information processing center (1) according to claim 5, wherein a light source that emits light vertically downward is arranged above the optically transparent portion.

7. The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, wherein the heating air passage (6) extends above the row of switch cabinets (3), across the row of switch cabinets (3), and across the entire width inside the container (2).

8. The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, wherein the heating air passage (6) extends between the opposing vertical outer walls (9) of the container (2), and one of the outer walls (9) is the outer wall (9) having the at least one opening (8).

9. The information processing center (1) according to claim 4, wherein the cold air outlet (12) is arranged below the portion of the partition wall (4) extending horizontally or below the portion of the partition wall (4) extending at an acute angle with respect to the horizontal.

10. The cold air outlet (12) is arranged opposite to the cold air inlet (15) of the row of switch cabinets (3), The heating air outlet (16) of the row of switch cabinets (3) is arranged on the side surface of the row of switch cabinets (3) arranged opposite to the cold air inlet (15) of the row of switch cabinets (3). The information processing center (1) according to claim 1.

11. In the heating passage (6), a horizontal air guide (18) having at least one air guiding passage (19) is arranged above the row (3) of the switch cabinets, The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, wherein the at least one air guiding passage (19) communicates with the intake port (13) of the warm air of the internal air circuit (10) of the cooling device (7).

12. The information processing center (1) according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device (7) has free cooling.

13. The cooling device (7) has a refrigerator in addition to the free cooling, The information processing center (1) according to claim 12, wherein the free cooling and the refrigerator have refrigerant circuits separated from each other.

14. The two refrigerant circuits are controlled to provide the required cooling capacity by prioritizing the free cooling and according to the power loss of the row (3) of the switch cabinets and the temperature around the container (2). The information processing center (1) according to claim 13.

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