Electronic monitoring of cabinet statuses

• US 10,242,546 B1
• Filed: 03/30/2017
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Equinix Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Equinix Incorporated
• Inventors: Wright, Anthony Donald
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US15/474,745
• Time in Patent Office: 726 Days
• Field of Search: 3406861, 340540, 3405456, 340500, 3406911, 361727, 361721
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1497 Rooms for data centers; Shipping containers therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/1498 Resource management, Optimisation arrangements, e.g. configuration, identification, tracking, physical location thermal management H05K7/20836
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20736 within cabinets for removing heat from server blades

Abstract

Examples of monitoring circuitry include a receiver circuit configured to receive a plurality of status indication signals, each status indication signal comprising information indicative of a cabinet occupancy status associated with one or more cabinets located in a data center storage space, a processor circuit configured to process the received status indication signals, and to determine if any of the status indication signals include an occupancy status indicating that the cabinet associated with the occupancy status indicates that at least one slot of the cabinet is not occupied with either the electronic device or the blanking cover, and to generate a status output signal indicative of any of the plurality of cabinets that are not fully occupied.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a receiver circuit configured to receive a plurality of status indication signals, each status indication signal comprising information indicative of a cabinet occupancy status associated with one or more cabinets located in a data center storage space,

wherein each of the one or more cabinets comprises a plurality of slots configured to receive either an electronic device or a blanking cover, each of the plurality of slots comprising a sensor device configured to provide a sensor output signal indicative of whether the respective slot is (1) an open slot through which heated air generated by a plurality of electronic devices housed by the respective cabinet is permitted through a front face of the respective cabinet or (2) occupied by either an electronic device or a blanking panel; and

a processor circuit configured to;

process the received status indication signals, and determine if any of the status indication signals include an occupancy status indicating at least one slot of the one or more cabinets is an open slot through which the heated air is permitted through the front face of the respective cabinet, and

generate a status output signal indicative of any of the one or more cabinets having at least one open slot through which the heated air is permitted through the front face of the respective cabinet.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver circuit is configured to wirelessly receive the status indication signals from one or more of the cabinets.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor circuit is incorporated in a portable mobile device configured to process the received status indication signals as the mobile device moves throughout the data center storage space, and to display, using a display device of the portable mobile device, the status indication of the occupancy status of one or more of the cabinets.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the display device is configured show a location within the data center storage space of one or more cabinets having a slot of the cabinet that is not occupied by the electronic device or the blanking cover.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of plurality of slots comprising a sensor device comprises an optical sensor device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of plurality of slots comprising a sensor device comprises a pressure sensitive sensing device.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of plurality of slots comprising a sensor device comprises a microswitch.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of plurality of slots comprising a sensor device comprises a Hall effect sensor.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the receiver circuit is configured to receive one or more individual sensor output signals that are wirelessly transmitted by one or more of the sensor devices, each status indication signal comprising information indicative of a cabinet occupancy status associated with the one or more cabinets located in the data center storage space.

10. A system comprising:

a plurality of detection devices, each of the plurality of detection devices located at one of a plurality of slots of a cabinet, each of the plurality of detection devices configured to detect whether the slot where the detection device is located is (1) an open slot through which heated air generated by a plurality of electronic devices housed by the respective cabinet is permitted through a front face of the respective cabinet or (2) occupied by either an electronic device or a blanking panel, and to provide a status output signal indicative of an occupancy status for the respective slot; and

a cabinet status monitoring circuit comprising at least one interface configured to receive the status output signal from each of the plurality of detection devices, and to generate a cabinet status output signal based on the status output signals provided by the plurality of detection devices, the cabinet status output signal indicative of the cabinet having at least one open slot through which the heated air is permitted through the front face of the cabinet.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein one or more of the detection devices comprises an optical sensor configured to optically detect the presence or absence of a mounting fastener configured to be received and engage the cabinet at the slot where the optical sensor is located, and to provide the status output signal that is indicative of whether a device is present at the slot where the optical sensor is located based on detection of the presence or absence of the mounting fastener.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein one or more of the detection devices comprises a microswitch comprising an actuation device, the actuation device configured to be actuated when an electronic device or a blanking cover is present at a slot of the cabinet where the microswitch is located, and to provide the status output signal that is indicative of whether a device is present at the slot where the microswitch is located based on whether the actuation device is actuated.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein one or more of the detection devices comprises a pressure sensor located at a slot of the cabinet and configured to sense a force applied to the pressure sensor by an electronic device or a blanking cover received and fastened into the slot where the pressure sensor is located, the pressure sensor configured to provide the status output signal that is indicative of whether a device is present at the slot where the pressure sensor is located based on whether the pressure sensor detects the force applied to the pressure sensor.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the one or more detection devices comprises a capacitive sensor located at a slot of the cabinet and configured to sense an electronic device or a blanking when received and fastened into the slot where the capacitive sensor is located, the capacitive sensor configured to provide the status output signal that is indicative of whether a device is present at the slot where the capacitive sensor is located.

15. A method comprising:

receiving, using communication circuitry, an occupancy status signal from each of a plurality of cabinets located in a data center storage space, the occupancy status signal comprising information indicative of an occupancy status for each of the cabinets, wherein the occupancy status for each of the cabinets indicates whether at least one slot in the cabinet is an open slot through which heated air generated by a plurality of electronic devices housed by the respective cabinet is permitted through a front face of the respective cabinet;

processing, using processing circuitry, the occupancy status signal received from each of the cabinets to determine an occupancy status indication for each of the cabinets based on the information provided in the occupancy status signal associated with each cabinet;

generating, using the processing circuitry, a graphical image comprising a graphical representation of the occupancy status indications for one or more of the cabinets included in the data center storage space, wherein each of the occupancy status indications for the one or more of the cabinets is indicative of whether the respective cabinet has at least one open slot through which the heated air is permitted through the front face of the respective cabinet; and

outputting the graphical image for display.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the graphical image comprises generating a plan view of at least a portion of the data center storage space comprising a graphical representation of the relative physical location of the plurality of served cabinets located in the portion of the data center storage space.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the plan view of the portion of the data center, when displayed on a display device, comprises one or more selectable portions of the graphical image that when selected, are configured to provide additional information related to the occupancy status of one or more cabinets located in the selected portion.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the occupancy status signal from each of the plurality of cabinets is determined based at least in part on a plurality of output signals generated for a plurality of slots for each of the plurality of cabinets, each of the output signals generated by a sensor device comprise an optical sensor device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the occupancy status signal from each of the plurality of cabinets is determined based at least in part on a plurality of output signals generated for a plurality of slots for each of the plurality of cabinets, each of the output signals generated by a sensor device comprise a pressure sensor device.

20. A method comprising:

detecting, by each of a plurality of sensor devices located at respective slots of a cabinet, whether the respective slot is (1) an open slot through which heated air generated by a plurality of electronic devices housed by the respective cabinet is permitted through a front face of the respective cabinet or (2) occupied by either an electronic device or a blanking cover installed at the respective slots from each of the individual sensor devices,

generating, by each of the plurality of sensor devices, a sensor output signal, the sensor output signal indicative of whether the respective slot is an open slot through which heated air generated by a plurality of electronic devices housed by the respective cabinet is permitted through a front face of the respective cabinet or the electronic device or the blanking cover was detected by the individual sensor device;

receiving, at an input circuit, each of the sensor output signals;

generating, using processing circuitry, a cabinet status output signal based on the received sensor output signals, the cabinet status output signal comprising at least an indication of whether any of the sensor output signals indicated that a slot of the cabinet was (1) an open slot through which the heated air is permitted through the front face of the respective cabinet or (2) occupied by either the electronic device or by the blanking cover installed at the slot; and

transmitting, using communication circuitry, the cabinet status output signal to one or more external devices.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein one or more of plurality of sensor devices comprise an optical sensor device.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein one or more of plurality of sensor devices comprise a pressure sensitive sensing device.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein one or more of plurality of sensor devices comprise a microswitch.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein one or more of plurality of sensor devices comprise a Hall effect sensor.