Systems and methods for combined active and passive cooling of an information handling resource

• US 10,353,357 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2015
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Dell Products LP (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Shabbir, Hasnain, Lovicott, Dominick A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): Booker, Kelvin
• Application Number:
  US14/747,801
• Publication Number:
  US 20160377083A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,484 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/004 by varying driving speed
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/20 Cooling means
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 30/70 Efficient control or regulation technologies, e.g. for control of refrigerant flow, motor or heating

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an information handling system may include a processor and an air mover control system for controlling at least one air mover configured to drive airflow to one or more components of the information handling system. The air mover control system may be configured to read from an information handling resource of the information handling system, wherein the information handling resource comprises an active cooling system, a fault condition cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by the information handling resource from the at least one air mover in presence of a fault condition of the active cooling system. The air mover control system may also be configured to read from the information handling resource a variable indicating whether the fault condition of the active cooling system exists. The air mover control system may also be configured to, responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition exists, determine a speed for the at least one air mover to satisfy the fault condition cooling requirement and cause the at least one air mover to operate at the speed.

Claims

1. An information handling system comprising:

a processor; and

an air mover control system for controlling at least one system-level air mover configured to drive airflow to components of the information handling system, the air mover control system configured to;

read from an information handling resource of the information handling system, wherein the information handling resource comprises a local active cooling system that is local to the information handling resource, is separate from the at least one system-level air mover, and includes a local air mover different from the at least one system-level air mover, a fault-condition cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by the information handling resource from the at least one system-level air mover in presence of a fault condition of the local active cooling system, wherein the fault condition of the local active cooling system includes a failure of the local air mover;

read from the information handling resource a variable indicating whether the fault condition of the local active cooling system exists;

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition exists, determine a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the fault-condition cooling requirement and cause the at least one air mover to operate at the speed;

determine whether an airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is sufficient to maintain a temperature associated with the information handling resource below a threshold temperature; and

responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature, cause one or more components of the information handling system to throttle performance.

2. The information handling system of claim 1, the air mover control system further configured to:

read from an information handling resource of the information handling system a normal-operation cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by the information handling resource from the at least one system-level air mover in absence of the fault condition of the local active cooling system; and

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition is absent, determine a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the normal-operation cooling requirement and cause the at least one system-level air mover to operate at the speed.

3. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the air mover control system is integral to a management controller communicatively coupled to the processor.

4. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the air mover control system is configured to cause the processor to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.

5. The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the air mover control system is configured to cause the information handling resource to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.

6. A method comprising:

receiving a fault-condition cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by an information handling resource, in presence of a fault condition of a local active cooling system that is local to and integral to the information handling resource, the airflow being from at least one system-level air mover configured to drive airflow to components of an information handling system housing the information handling resource, wherein the at least one system-level air mover is separate from the local active cooling system, and wherein the fault condition of the local active cooling system includes a failure of a local air mover of the local active cooling system;

receiving a variable indicating whether the fault condition of the local active cooling system exists;

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition exists, determining a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the fault-condition cooling requirement and cause the at least one system-level air mover to operate at the speed;

determining whether an airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is sufficient to maintain a temperature associated with the information handling resource below a threshold temperature; and

responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature, causing one or more components of the information handling system to throttle performance.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

receiving a normal-operation cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by the information handling resource from the at least one system-level air mover in absence of the fault condition of the local active cooling system; and

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition is absent, determining a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the normal-operation cooling requirement and cause the at least one system-level air mover to operate at the speed.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising causing a processor of the information handling system to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.

9. The method of 6, further comprising causing the information handling resource to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.

10. An article of manufacture comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and

computer-executable instructions carried on the computer-readable medium, the instructions readable by a processor, the instructions, when read and executed, for causing the processor to;

receive a fault-condition cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by an information handling resource, in presence of a fault condition of a local active cooling system that is local to and integral to the information handling resource, the airflow being from at least one system-level air mover configured to drive airflow to components of an information handling system housing the information handling resource, wherein the at least one system-level air mover is separate from the local active cooling system, and wherein the fault condition of the local active cooling system includes a failure of a local air mover of the local active cooling system;

receive a variable indicating whether the fault condition of the local active cooling system exists;

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition exists, determine a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the fault-condition cooling requirement and cause the at least one system-level air mover to operate at the speed,

determine whether an airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is sufficient to maintain a temperature associated with the information handling resource below a threshold temperature; and

responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature, cause one or more components of the information handling system to throttle performance.

11. The article of claim 10, the instructions for further causing the processor to:

receive a normal-operation cooling requirement defining a minimum airflow required by the information handling resource from the at least one system-level air mover in absence of the fault condition of the local active cooling system; and

responsive to the variable indicating the fault condition is absent, determine a speed for the at least one system-level air mover to satisfy the normal-operation cooling requirement and cause the at least one system-level air mover to operate at the speed.

12. The article of claim 10, the instructions for further causing the processor to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.

13. The article of claim 10, the instructions for further causing the processor to cause the information handling resource to throttle performance responsive to determining that the airflow delivered by the at least one system-level air mover in accordance with the fault-condition cooling requirement is insufficient to maintain the temperature associated with the information handling resource below the threshold temperature.