JP2839261B2 - Method of collecting information on refrigerant circuit unconnected in cooling device and cooling device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Summary] For example, regarding a cooling system automatic configuration control method applied to a cooling system of a large computer, the purpose of the present invention is to improve reliability when configuring the system. When the control unit activates the refrigerant supply device of one of the plurality of refrigerant circulation systems and does not detect the refrigerant flow by the detection unit of the refrigerant circulation system, the alternative refrigerant supply device is activated. If the detection means does not detect the refrigerant flow even after the activation of the alternative refrigerant supply device, the information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in the storage means. Connection information method and cooling device.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for collecting unconnected information of a refrigerant circulation system of a cooling device, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for collecting unconnected information of a refrigerant circulation system of a cooling device applied to a cooling device of a large computer.

[Conventional technology]

A large number of integrated circuits are used in large-scale computers that are widely used today, and generate a large amount of heat during operation. In order to remove the large amount of generated heat, a dedicated cooling device is required, and the size of the cooling device has been increased with the increase in the size of the computer.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a cooling device in a conventional example. As shown in the figure, a conventional cooling device is a heat exchanger (H
E) 611, a pump (P) 613, a tank (T) 615, and a cooling module (CCM) 617, which formed one water flow loop. As described above, in the related art, there is often one water flow loop, but recently, with the complexity of the device, a device having a plurality of water flow loops has become widespread.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, as described above, when there are a plurality of water flow loops due to the complexity of the device, when the heat exchanger 611 and the cooling module 617 are connected, a connection error is likely to occur, and It was not easy to confirm.

Therefore, from such a point, there is a problem that reliability is low when configuring the device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a refrigerant circulation system unconnected information collection method and a cooling device for a cooling device that can enhance reliability when configuring the cooling device. For that purpose.

[Means for solving the problem]

In the configuration of the cooling device, the invention according to claim 1 activates a refrigerant feeding device provided in a refrigerant circulating system connected to the device to be cooled, downstream of the cooling feeding device in the refrigerant circulating system. A refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulation system is detected by detection means interposed in the refrigerant circulation system, and when the refrigerant flow is not detected by the detection means, an alternative refrigerant interposed in the refrigerant circulation system and used as a substitute for the refrigerant feeding device When the feeding device is started, and when the detection of the refrigerant flow is not performed by the detection unit, information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in the storage unit.

FIG. 1 (part 1) shows a principle block diagram of the invention according to claim 2.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 (part 1), a cooling means 111 for cooling a device to be cooled 121 is connected to a refrigerant circulation system provided with a refrigerant feeding device 113 on the upstream side. The cooling device to be configured is provided with an alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A, a detection unit 115, a control unit 114, a storage unit 117, and a storage control unit 119.

The alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A is a refrigerant feeding device 113A.
It is started instead of.

The detection means 115 is provided downstream of the refrigerant feeding device 113 in the refrigerant circulation system, and detects a refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulation system.

The control means 114 responds to the fact that the detection means 115 has not output a refrigerant flow detection signal even when the refrigerant feeding device 113 is activated, in determining whether or not the refrigerant circulation system is unconnected. Then, the alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A is started.

The storage control means 119 responds to the fact that the refrigerant flow detection signal is not output from the detection means 114 even if the activation of the alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A is caused by the control means 114. The storage means 117 stores information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected.

The invention according to claim 2 is the cooling device according to claim 2, as shown in FIG. 1 (part 2).
The cooling unit 111 is provided for each of the devices to be cooled 121.
The refrigerant circulation system provided with the refrigerant feeding device 113 on the upstream side communicates with each other, and an alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A is provided for each refrigerant circulation system.
And detecting means 115.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 (part 3), in the cooling device according to the second aspect, the cooled device
A plurality of cooling units 111 for cooling the device to be cooled 121 are provided, and the cooling unit 111 for each cooling unit 111 is provided.
In addition, a refrigerant circulation system provided with the refrigerant feeding device 113 on the upstream side is communicated with each other, and each refrigerant circulation system is provided with an alternative refrigerant feeding device 113A and a detection means 115.

(Operation)

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cooling device is configured, the refrigerant feeding device provided in the refrigerant circulation system connected to the device to be cooled is started. The refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulation system is detected by the refrigerant circulation system detection means.

When the detection means does not detect the refrigerant flow, the alternative refrigerant feeding device is activated.

When the refrigerant flow is not detected by the detection means, information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in the storage means.

Thus, when the refrigerant circulation system is not connected, information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected can be obtained, and the information can be used for a measure of non-connection.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when configuring the cooling device, the control unit 114 controls the refrigerant supply device 113 of the refrigerant circulation system.
Is started and the refrigerant flow is not detected by the refrigerant circulation detection unit 115, the control unit 114 starts the alternative refrigerant supply device 113A. If no refrigerant flow is detected by the detection means 115 even by the activation of the alternative refrigerant supply device 113A, information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected,
The data is stored in the storage means 117 by the storage control means 119.

It is possible to recognize whether or not the refrigerant circulation system is unconnected, which is useful for improving the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device. or,
The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, for each of the devices to be cooled, information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system connected to the cooling means for cooling each of the devices to be cooled by applying the invention of the first aspect is not connected. It is intended to be stored.

In the configuration of the cooling device, it is possible to recognize whether any of the plurality of refrigerant circulation systems is unconnected to the refrigerant circulation system from the stored information, and the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device can be improved. Helps improve sex. The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling means.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when a plurality of refrigerant circulation systems are connected to one cooled device, information indicating that each of the refrigerant circulation systems is not connected is stored.

In the configuration of the cooling device, it is possible to recognize whether any of the plurality of refrigerant circulation systems is unconnected to the refrigerant circulation system from the stored information, and the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device can be improved. Helps improve sex. The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling device.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a cooling device according to an embodiment adopting the first to fourth aspects of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a control system of a cooling device according to an embodiment employing the inventions of claims 1 to 4.

I. Correspondence relationship between the embodiment and FIG. 1 Here, the correspondence relationship between the embodiment of the invention described in claims 1 to 4 and FIG. 1 will be described.

Cooling means 111 is equivalent to the cooling module 219 _{0-219 15.}

Coolant supply apparatus 113 is equivalent to a pump 213 _{0-213 15.}

Alternative refrigerant supply device 113A corresponds to alternative pump 213R.

The control means 114 corresponds to the unit cooling control device 315.

Detecting means 115 corresponds to the flow rate switch 217 _{0-217 15.}

The storage unit 117 corresponds to the unit cooling control device 315.

The storage control unit 119 corresponds to the unit cooling control device 315.

The device to be cooled 121 is a device unit (for example, CPU board, I
/ O processor board).

Assuming that there is such a correspondence, the embodiments of the invention described in claims 1 to 4 will be described below.

II. Configuration of Embodiment In FIG. 2, the entire cooling system is composed of individual cooling systems forming 16 water flow loops, and each cooling system is a heat exchanger (HE) for performing heat exchange. 211, a pump (P) 213, a tank (T) 215, a flow rate switch (SFS) 217 for detecting a flow rate, and a cooling module 219 (CCM) for cooling a corresponding device unit (not shown).
With

In FIG. 3, a cooling device control system includes a service processor (SVP) 311 for performing overall control in response to a command from a host device, a display 319 for displaying operation procedures and results, and a disk for storing configuration information and the like. 317 and a system power control unit (SP
C) 313 and a pump (P) 213 corresponding to each device unit
Unit cooling control unit (UC
And C) 315, which comprises a unit power supply controller (UPC) 321 ₀ ~321 ₁₅ for performing power control of each device unit.

III. Operation of Embodiment FIG. 4 shows a control procedure in the unit cooling control device for the cooling device. FIG. 5 shows a flow rate switch corresponding flag, and ON / OFF of the flow rate switch can be detected by the corresponding flag.

Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 2 to 5, an embodiment of a method for collecting information on connection of the refrigerant circulation system of the cooling apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention and a cooling apparatus according to the second to fourth aspects of the invention will be described. The operation will be described.

First, as an initial setting, the number of device units is set to n = 16 (step 411). Next, 1 is subtracted from the value of n (step 412).

Therefore, check the flag corresponding to the flow switch,
It is determined whether 217 _n is off, that is, no flow is detected in the water flow loop and the cooling module 219 is not operating (step 413).

If the flow switch 217 _n is not in the OFF state, i.e., if the already flowing in the water flow loop for some reason has been detected (negative determination in step 413), the process proceeds to step 418.

When the flow switch 217 _n is off (step
Affirmative determination) at 413 then activates the pump 213 _n (step 414).

After starting the pump 213 _n, again examine the flow switch corresponding flag, the flow switch 217 _n are turned on, i.e., the flow is detected in the water flow loop cooling module 219 determines whether or not the operation (step 415) .

When the flow switch 217 _n is on (step
The affirmative determination at 415) proceeds to step 410, _where an address is set for the flow switch 217n.
That is, the result obtained by adding the address value of each flow switch 217 _{n to} the address value unique to the unit cooling control device 315,
The information is stored in the corresponding area of the configuration information table in the unit cooling control device 315.

If flow switch 217 _n is not on (step
The negative determination at 415) then activates the alternative pump 213R (not shown) (step 416).

After starting the alternate pump again examine the flow switch corresponding flag, it determines whether or not the flow switch 217 _n is in the on state (step 417).

When the flow switch 217 _n is on (step
Affirmative determination) at 415, the process proceeds to step 419, and sets the address for that flow switch 217 _n.

If flow switch 217 _n is not on (step
If the determination is negative at 415), the process proceeds to step 418, where "00" is stored in the corresponding area of the configuration information table in the unit cooling control device 315 assuming that the water flow loop cannot be confirmed.

Next, it is determined whether n = 0, that is, whether or not all the device units have been performed (step 420).

If n = 0 (No in step 420)
Returns to step 412.

If n = 0 (Yes in step 420),
The processing ends as having been performed for all device units.

As described above, the configuration information table in the unit cooling control device 315 is created.

When the configuration information table in the unit cooling control device 315 is created, the service processor 311 next compares the information in the configuration information table with the information in the configuration information table stored in the disk 317 in advance. .

When the desired configuration information is described in the configuration information table stored in the disk 317, if a difference is found in the previous comparison, an alarm is issued to urge the operator to confirm the connection.

IV. Summary of Embodiment As described above, a flag capable of detecting the on / off of the flow switch 217 is provided, and the on / off of the corresponding flow switch 217 when each pump 213 is started is detected, and the result is referred to as a unit. The information is stored in the cooling control device 315 as a configuration information table.

Further, the information of the configuration information table thus generated and the information of the configuration information table as master information stored in the disk 317 are compared and verified.

Therefore, reliability can be improved when configuring the device.

V. Modifications of the Invention In the above-described embodiments of the invention as set forth in claims 1 to 4, although the flow rate switch is employed as the detection means, it is assumed that the cooling means functions. Any other means may be used as long as it can be detected.

In “I. Correspondence between the embodiment and FIG. 1”,
The correspondence between the inventions described in claims 1 to 4 and the embodiments has been described. However, the inventions described in claims 1 to 4 are not limited thereto, and there are various modifications. This can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cooling device is configured, the refrigerant feeding device of the refrigerant circulation system connected to the device to be cooled is started, and the refrigerant circulation system is detected by the refrigerant circulation system detecting means. Even when the alternative refrigerant feeding device is started when the refrigerant flow of the system is not detected, if the refrigerant flow is not detected by the detection unit, the information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in the storage unit. Since the information is stored, when the refrigerant circulation system is not connected, it is possible to obtain information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected, and the information can be used for measures for disconnection.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when configuring the cooling device, the control unit activates the refrigerant supply device of the refrigerant circulation system and substitutes the control unit when the detection unit of the refrigerant circulation system does not detect the refrigerant flow. Even if the refrigerant supply device is started, if the refrigerant flow is still not detected by the detection means,
Since the information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in the storage unit by the storage control unit,
From the information, it is possible to recognize whether or not the refrigerant circulation system is not connected, which is useful for improving the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device. The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling device.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is indicated that, for each of the devices to be cooled, the refrigerant circulation system connected to the cooling means for cooling the devices to be cooled by applying the invention of the first aspect is not connected. In the configuration of this cooling device, it is possible to recognize from the stored information whether any of the plurality of refrigerant circulation systems is unconnected to the refrigerant circulation system. It is possible to improve the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device. The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling device.

According to the invention described in claim 4, when a plurality of refrigerant circulation systems are connected to one cooled device, information indicating that each of the refrigerant circulation systems is not connected is stored. In the configuration of the cooling device, it is possible to obtain from the stored information whether any of the plurality of refrigerant circulation systems is unconnected to the refrigerant circulation system,
This helps to improve the reliability of the configuration of the cooling device. The unconnected information can be used for operation of the cooling device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the invention according to the second to fourth aspects of the invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the structure of a cooling apparatus according to an embodiment employing the invention according to the first to the fourth aspects, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of a cooling device in one embodiment employing the inventions of claims 1 to 4, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a control procedure for the cooling device, and FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a corresponding flag, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional cooling device. In the figure, 111 is a cooling means, 113 is a refrigerant feeding device, 113A is an alternative refrigerant device, 114 is a control means, 115 is a detection means, 117 is a storage means, 119 is a storage control means, 121 is a device to be cooled, 211 and 611 are 213,613 is a pump, 215,615 is a tank, 217 is a flow switch, 219,617 is a cooling module, 311 is a service processor, 313 is a system power controller, 315 is a unit cooling controller, 317 is a disk, 319 is a display, 321 Is a unit power control device.

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] In a configuration of a cooling device, a refrigerant feeding device provided in a refrigerant circulation system connected to a device to be cooled is started, and the cooling device is provided downstream of the cooling feeding device in the refrigerant circulation system. An alternative refrigerant feeding device interposed in the refrigerant circulating system and used as a substitute for the refrigerant feeding device when the detecting device detects the refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulating system; Collecting information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is unconnected in a storage unit when the detection of the refrigerant flow is not performed by the detection unit. Method. 2. A cooling device configured to connect a cooling medium circulating system provided with a cooling medium supply device on an upstream side to cooling means for cooling a cooling target device, and being started in place of the cooling medium feeding device. An alternative refrigerant feeding device that is provided, a detecting unit that is provided downstream of the refrigerant feeding device in the refrigerant circulation system and detects a refrigerant flow in the refrigerant circulation system, and the refrigerant circulation system is not connected. When determining whether or not
Control means for activating the alternative refrigerant supply apparatus in response to the refrigerant flow detection signal not being output from the detection means even when activating the refrigerant supply apparatus; storage means; and Even if activation of the alternative refrigerant supply device is caused, the information indicating that the refrigerant circulation system is not connected is stored in response to the fact that the refrigerant flow detection signal is not output from the detection means. And a storage control means for storing the information in the means. 3. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of the devices to be cooled are provided, and the cooling means for cooling the devices to be cooled is provided with the refrigerant feeding device upstream. A cooling medium circulation system connected to the cooling medium circulation system, and an alternative refrigerant supply device and a detection unit provided for each of the refrigerant circulation systems. 4. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the device to be cooled is one, a plurality of cooling means for cooling the device to be cooled are provided, and the device to be cooled for each cooling means is cooled. A cooling device, wherein the cooling means is connected to a refrigerant circulating system provided with the refrigerant feeding device on the upstream side, and an alternative refrigerant feeding device and a detecting means are provided for each refrigerant circulating system.