Intelligent venting

• US 20070125107A1
• Filed: 02/02/2005
• Published: 06/07/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/02/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Original Assignee: Schneider Electric IT Corporation (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Beam, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 8,596,079 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/186
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/30 for purposes related to the operation of the system, e.g. for safety or monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/63 Electronic processing
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 11/76 by means responsive to temperature, e.g. bimetal springs
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 13/14 built up of tilting members, e.g. louvre
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/10 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/20 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/30 Velocity
• CPC Class Codes: F24F 2110/40 Pressure, e.g. wind pressure
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/2059 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device

Abstract

A system for regulating gas flow for a computer room containing computer components includes vents configured to direct gas from a gas supply toward the computer components, sensors disposed and configured to provide information regarding at least a first property associated with the computer components, and a controller coupled to the sensors and the vents and configured to effect a change in gas flow through a second one of the vents in accordance with a first value of the first property associated with a first of the computer components.

Claims

1. A system for regulating gas flow for a computer room containing a plurality of computer components, the system comprising:

a plurality of vents configured to direct gas from a gas supply toward the computer components;

a plurality of sensors disposed and configured to provide information regarding at least a first property associated with the computer components; and

a controller coupled to the sensors and the vents and configured to effect a change in gas flow through a second one of the vents in accordance with a first value of the first property associated with a first of the computer components corresponding to a first one of the vents.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to effect changes in gas flow through both the second of the vents and the first one of the vents.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the change effected in the gas flow through the first vent changes the first value toward a more desirable value and the change effected in the gas flow through the second vent associated with a second computer component changes a second value of a property associated with the second computer component toward a less desirable value.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the change in gas flow through the second vent is effected because the second vent is associated with a lower-priority computer component than the first computer component associated with the first vent.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein the controller effects changes in gas flows through a second sub-plurality of the vents to effect the change in gas flow through the first vent.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the second sub-plurality of vents are associated with lower-priority computer components than the first computer component associated with the first vent.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the controller is configured to effect changes in gas flow through a first sub-plurality of the vents to effect values of at least one property associated with computer components associated with the first sub-plurality of vents to more desirable values, the first sub-plurality of vents being higher priority than the second sub-plurality of vents as the computer components associated with the first sub-plurality of vents are of higher priority than the computer components associated with the second sub-plurality of vents.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the first sub-plurality of vents have at least two different priority levels, the first sub-plurality of vents being associated with computer components of the at least two different priority levels.

9. The system of claim 3 wherein the controller is configured to adjust an acceptable value of the second value as at least part of effecting the change in gas flow through the second vent.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the controller is configured to use knowledge of the first value relative to at least one of a desired and an extreme acceptable value of the first property to effect the change in gas flow through the second vent.

11. The system of claim 2 wherein the system is configured such that the change in gas flow through the first one of the vents is effected automatically by effecting the change in the second one of the vents.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least a first property comprises at least one of temperature, humidity, pressure, and gas flow rate.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the change is effected by altering an openness of louvers of the second one of the vents.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is configured to implement at least one of a plurality of operational modes including at least one independent mode in which the gas flow through the second vent is changed without regard to a change in gas flow effected at the first vent associated with the first computer component, and at least one cooperative mode in which the gas flow through the second vent is changed in accordance with both the value of the first property and with a change in gas flow effected at the first vent.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the first value is one of an extreme temperature associated with the plurality of computer components and an average temperature associated with the plurality of computer components.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller comprises a plurality of controllers corresponding to and coupled to respective ones of the vents.

17. A method of regulating gas flow for a computer room containing a plurality of computer components, the method comprising:

flowing gas in the computer room toward a first computer component, of the plurality of computer components, with a first flow profile comprising at least one first flow characteristic and toward a second computer component, of the plurality of computer components, with a second flow profile with at least one second flow characteristic;

determining a first value of a first property associated with at least one of the plurality of computer components; and

adjusting the second flow characteristic of the second flow profile of the flowing gas to alter a second value of a second property associated with the second computer component in accordance with the first value.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising adjusting the first flow characteristic of the first flow profile of the flowing gas in conjunction with adjusting the second flow characteristic in order to alter the first value of the first property.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the adjusting comprises reducing the gas flow rate toward the second computer component and increasing gas flow rate toward the first computer component.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein reducing the gas flow rate toward the second computer component comprises reducing openness of a vent directing gas toward the second computer component.

21. The method of claim 18 wherein adjusting the second flow characteristic automatically causes the adjusting of the first flow characteristic.

22. The method of claim 18 wherein the first property is associated with the first computer component, the method further comprising:

determining that the first value is at an undesirable value; and

determining that adjusting the first value toward a desirable value is preferred over maintaining the second flow profile for the second computer component in a current state of the second flow profile;

wherein the first flow characteristic is adjusted to change the first value toward the desirable value and the second flow characteristic is changed in an opposite manner from the adjusting of the first flow characteristic.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein determining that adjusting the first value toward the desirable value of the first property associated with the first computer component is more preferred than maintaining the second flow profile for the second computer component in the current state of the second flow profile comprises determining that the first computer component has a higher priority than the second computer component.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein determining if the first computer component has a higher priority than the second computer component comprises using knowledge of a predetermined priority associated with the first computer component.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein using knowledge of a predetermined priority associated with the first computer component comprises using knowledge that the first computer component provides a higher-priority function than a function provided by the second computer component.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein determining that the first computer component has a higher priority than the second computer component comprises analyzing where a second value of a second property associated with the second computer component is relative to an extreme acceptable value for the second value.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the first value is a first temperature and the second value is a second temperature, and wherein determining that the first computer component has a higher priority than the second computer component comprises determining that the second temperature is below the extreme acceptable value.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising:

determining that the second value is closer to a temperature target value for the second computer component than a third value of a third property associated with a third computer component is to a temperature target value for the third computer component; and

deciding to adjust the second flow characteristic instead of a third flow characteristic of gas flow toward the third computer component based on determining the relative closeness of the second and third values relative to the second and third temperature target values, respectively.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein determining that the first value is at an undesirable value comprises comparing the first value to a threshold.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein comparing the first value to a threshold comprises comparing the first value to a range of acceptable values.

31. The method of claim 17 further comprising altering a preferred value of the second property associated with the second computer component.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising limiting adjustment of the preferred value to an extreme value for the second property.

33. The method of claim 17 wherein the first value is one of an extreme temperature associated with the plurality of computer components and an average temperature associated with the plurality of computer components.

34. The method of claim 17 further comprising adjusting the at least a third flow characteristic of at least a third flow profile of the flowing gas to alter at least a third value of at least a third property associated with at least a third computer component in accordance with the first value.

35. The method of claim 17 wherein the second flow characteristic of the second flow profile of the flowing gas is adjusted to alter a second value of a second property associated with the second computer component in accordance with the first value and at least a second value of a second property associated with a second computer component of the plurality of computer components.

36. An intelligent vent subsystem for use in a system of vent subsystems for regulating gas flow to computer components in a computer room containing the computer components, the intelligent vent system being associated with a first of the computer components and comprising:

a communication interface configured to receive information from another vent subsystem in the system of vent subsystems;

a conduit providing a passage for gas flow through the vent;

an adjustable damper connected to the conduit and configured to affect gas flow through the conduit;

a driver connected to the damper and configured to cause the damper to move to affect the gas flow through the conduit; and

a controller connected to the driver and the communication interface and configured to control the driver to cause the damper to move to affect the gas flow through the conduit in accordance with a signal received by the communication interface that is associated with a value of a first property associated with the another vent subsystem.

37. The subsystem of claim 36 wherein the signal received by the communication interface indicates the value of the first property associated with the another vent subsystem.

38. The subsystem of claim 36 wherein the signal received by the communication interface indicates a desired value of a second property associated with the vent subsystem and the controller is configured to control the damper to affect the gas flow through the conduit to change a second value of the second property toward the desired value.

39. The subsystem of claim 36 wherein the controller is configured to use information regarding at least one of a temperature, a humidity, a pressure differential, and a gas flow rate associated with the another vent subsystem to control the driver to affect the gas flow through the conduit.

40. The subsystem of claim 36 wherein the controller is configured to use information regarding relative function priorities of the first computer component and a computer component associated with the another vent subsystem to control the driver to affect the gas flow through the conduit.

41. The subsystem of claim 36 wherein the controller is further configured to transfer data regarding at least one property associated with the vent subsystem toward the another vent subsystem.