Interlock assembly for air-moving assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing concurrently-maintainable air-moving assemblies in electronics racks pose a safety risk due to high-speed spinning fans during removal, and concurrent redundancy is undesirable as it can impede airflow, leading to potential computing outages.
Innovation Solution
An interlock assembly with a slide element and interlock elements is implemented, preventing removal of air-moving assemblies during operation by blocking access to fasteners until the assembly is non-operational and the fan rotor has slowed to a safe speed, ensuring safety and maintaining redundancy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of repair
If air-moving assemblies are made removable for maintenance, then ease of repair is improved, but safety risk increases due to high-speed spinning fans
Solution Approach 1:
The interlock assembly prevents removal of the air-moving assembly until the fan has slowed to a safe speed. The slide element blocks access to fasteners during operation, and only after the fan rotor has decelerated does the interlock mechanism allow the slide element to move and expose the fasteners for removal.
2Reliability
If multiple air-moving assemblies are provided for redundancy, then system reliability is improved, but airflow performance deteriorates due to blocked passages
Solution Approach 1:
The air-moving assemblies are designed as separate, modular units that can be independently removed and installed. Each assembly has its own interlock mechanism, allowing individual maintenance without affecting other assemblies. This segmentation enables redundancy while maintaining proper airflow paths when assemblies are correctly positioned.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If interlock mechanism blocks fasteners during operation, then safety is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to restricted access
Solution Approach 1:
The interlock mechanism dynamically transitions between locked and unlocked states based on fan speed. The slide element automatically moves to block fasteners during operation and becomes accessible when the fan slows, providing safety during operation while enabling easy access when safe to remove.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses and methods are provided for preventing removal of an air-moving assembly from a chassis when in operating state. The apparatus includes an interlock assembly having a slide element and one or more interlock elements. The slide element is slideably coupled to the air-moving assembly and resides in a first position when the air-moving assembly is in the operating state, and is slidable to a second position when the air-moving assembly is in a quiesced state. The slide element prevents removal of the air-moving assembly from the chassis in the first position, and allows removal of the air-moving assembly from the chassis in the second position. The interlock element(s) is associated with the slide element and prevents sliding of the slide element from the first position to the second position when the air-moving assembly is in the operating state.