Air-moving assemblies with flywheels

• US 9,568,011 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2015
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: David, Milnes P., Domitrovits, Michael J., Murphy, Joshua, Palmer, John V., Rosato, Sal M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Tuan T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Patel, Mukund G.
• Application Number:
  US14/828,745
• Publication Number:
  US 20160084257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 546 Days
• Field of Search: 361/679.48, 318/150, 318/161
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 17/16 for displacing without appreciable compression
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 19/002 Axial flow fans
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/026 with a magnetic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/08 the working fluid being air, e.g. for ventilation
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 25/166 using fans
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 27/005 by changing flow path between different stages or between a plurality of compressors; Load distribution between compressors
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/302 by means of magnetic or electromagnetic forces
• CPC Class Codes: F05B 2260/421 in the form of rotational kinetic energy, e.g. in flywheels
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 7/09 against over-voltage; against reduction of voltage; against phase interruption
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20136 Forced ventilation, e.g. by fans H05K7/202 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 7/20745 within rooms for removing heat from cabinets, e.g. by air conditioning device

Abstract

Apparatuses and methods are provided for facilitating air-cooling of, for instance, one or more electronics racks within a data center. The apparatus includes an air-moving assembly and one or more flywheels. The air-moving assembly includes a shaft, one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft, and a motor coupled to the shaft to rotatably drive the shaft. The flywheel(s) is sized and coupled to the shaft of the air-moving assembly to store rotational energy, and to facilitate, for a specified period of time, continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor. In one implementation, the flywheel(s) is sized and coupled to the shaft to facilitate, for the specified time period, continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with shaft speed when rotatably driven by the motor.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing an air-moving assembly, the air-moving assembly comprising;

a shaft;

one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, with the shaft; and

a motor coupled to the shaft to rotatably drive the shaft;

coupling at least one flywheel to the shaft of the air-moving assembly, with the one or more mechanical fans coupled to the shaft between the motor and the at least one flywheel, the at least one flywheel storing energy during motor operation, and facilitating, for a specified period of time, continued rotation of the shaft during interruption in power to the motor;

providing a motor decoupling mechanism coupled to the shaft between the motor and the one or more mechanical fans, the motor decoupling mechanism comprising a clutch coupling the shaft to drive a shaft of the motor, the drive shaft driving rotation of the shaft when the motor is operating and the clutch automatically decoupling the shaft from the drive shaft during interruption in power to the motor; and

providing a belt drive assembly coupling one flywheel of the at least one flywheel to the shaft, wherein the belt drive assembly includes a gearing mechanism providing an increased rotational speed to the one flywheel in comparison with a rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor, wherein the specified period of time is provided by the at least one flywheel being sized, and the increased rotational speed being selected, to achieve a set time period from a utility power interruption to the motor for the continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with the rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one flywheel is sized and coupled to the shaft to facilitate, for the specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft at a specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with a rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the air-moving assembly is a computer-room, air-moving assembly providing, at least in part, air movement within a computer room comprising one or more electronics racks to be cooled, and the specified period of time is preselected to be a time interval from a utility power interruption to the motor within which power should be reestablished to the motor.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the air-moving assembly comprises multiple mechanical fans coupled to the shaft to rotate, at least in part, therewith, the one or more mechanical fans being one or more mechanical fans of the multiple mechanical fans, and wherein one flywheel of the at least one flywheel is coupled to the shaft between two adjacent mechanical fans of the multiple mechanical fans coupled to the shaft.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing a flywheel extender housing attached to a side of the air-moving assembly, the flywheel extender housing comprising the at least one flywheel, and the apparatus further comprising a shaft extender coupled to the shaft to rotate therewith, the at least one flywheel being coupled to the shaft through the shaft extender.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing an electromotive force (emf) decoupling mechanism coupled to a circuit line facilitating powering of the motor, the electromotive force (emf) decoupling mechanism automatically opening or decoupling with the interruption in power to the motor, and preventing the continued rotation of the shaft during the interruption in power to the motor from providing a back electromotive force through the motor.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the electromotive force decoupling mechanism comprises an electromagnetic switch, the electromagnetic switch being coupled to the circuit line, and automatically switching to an open circuit state with loss of power to the motor through the circuit line.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the air-moving assembly is a computer-room air-conditioner (CRAC) unit, the computer-room air-conditioner unit comprising an air-to-coolant heat exchanger and providing cooled air to a computer room comprising one or more electronics racks to be cooled, and wherein the at least one flywheel is sized and coupled to provide, for the specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft to facilitate the computer-room air-conditioner unit providing additional cooled air to the data center during the interruption in power to the motor, and wherein the at least one flywheel is sized and coupled to the shaft to facilitate, for the specified period of time, the continued rotation of the shaft at the specified percentage, or greater, rotational speed of the shaft compared with the rotational speed of the shaft when rotatably driven by the motor.