Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Oracle International Corporation

Oracle America, Inc.

Anthony N Eberhardt

Daniel Bernard Hruska

Naum Reznikov

Ehsan Ettehadieh

Mario J Lee

Michael F McCormick, Jr

David C Douglas

Yuan Gao

Henry Bono

Brett C Ong

Timothy W Olesiewicz

William Leslie Dailey

Chin Y Cheng

Eric R Eberhardt

William H Schwartz

Cathleen A Quick

John A Harada

Eddie Y Wong

A system for controlling an atmospheric condition. The system includes: a pre-atmospheric conditioner configured to: collect ambient air and generate test air comprising the atmospheric condition for a first test computing device by modifying the ambient air. The system also includes an intake conduit, external to the first test computing device, configured to channel the test air to the first test computing device.

Managing atmospheric conditions of a test computing device

A system for controlling an atmospheric condition. The system includes: an exhaust conduit, external to a first test computing device, configured to channel exhaust from the first test computing device. Further, the system includes a primary atmospheric conditioner, external to the first test computing device, configured to generate test air comprising the atmospheric condition for the first test computing device by modifying the exhaust. Further still, the system also includes an intake conduit, external to the first test computing device, configured to channel the test air to the first test computing device.

Setting atmospheric conditions for a test computing device

A vent for a computer apparatus having first and second groups of components. The vent has an air inlet that receives air from a location adjacent to the first group of components and an air outlet that provides air into a space defined between the first and second components. Air flows from the air inlet to the air outlet through a channel that circumvents the first group of components. The computer apparatus may be a server having a plurality of disk drives disposed in a front section of a cabinet. A fan in the back section of the cabinet draws air through a first airflow path across the disk drives. A snorkel defines a second airflow path that circumvents the disk drives in the front section to provide air to the second group of components in the back section.

Air flow snorkel for computer system

A cooling system including redundant fan controllers. The cooling system includes a first fan controller coupled to control a first plurality of fans and a second fan controller coupled to control a second plurality of fans. During operation, the first plurality of fans and the second plurality of fans operate concurrently. The first fan controller and the second fan controller are each configured to monitor the first and the second plurality of fans and to detect a failure in any of the first and the second plurality of fans. Further, in response to detecting a failure of a fan of the first plurality of fans, the second fan controller is configured to increase an operating speed of a corresponding fan of the second plurality of fans.

Cooling system including redundant fan controllers

A bracket having two parallel sides and an interconnecting crosspiece is attached to a disk drive or similar peripheral with the sides of the bracket extending longitudinally of the sides of the drive and the crosspiece extending across the front of the drive. A chassis of a computer or the like has internal parallel sides formed with horizontal guides to receive the bracket, a substantially open front face and an internal connector engageable with a mating connector on the rear of the drive when the bracket is fully inserted in the chassis. The sides of the bracket have features to protect the drive from horizontal and vertical vibrations. A handle is pivoted to the crosspiece near one end moveable between at least three positions: a first or latched position parallel to the crosspiece, a second position swinging out at about a 15&deg; angle and a third position at about a 45&deg; angle. In second position a first point on the end of the handle engages the front edge of the side and a second point is about to enter a slot in one side of the chassis. As the handle is pivoted toward third position the second point engages a margin of the slot and pulls the two connectors apart. To reinsert the drive, the positions of the handle are reversed. A spring biased latch engages a hook on the handle. A second spring opens the unlatched handle from the first to second positions.

Disk drive bracket

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for serial coolant flow control. In one embodiment of the present invention, two or more sets of angled rotating blades are used in series to increase the coolant pressure and flow. In this embodiment, the rotational direction of a set of blades is the reverse of the rotational direction of any set of blades next to it. In one embodiment, the angles of the blades are such that the forward velocity created by a set of blades is in the same direction as forward velocities created by other sets of blades in the system. In one embodiment, the blades of one set form a right angle with the blades of any set next to it. In one embodiment, the coolant flow controller is a fan. In another embodiment, the coolant is air. In yet another embodiment, the system being cooled is an electronic system.

Method and apparatus for serial coolant flow control

A bracket having two parallel sides and an interconnecting crosspiece is attached to a disk drive or similar peripheral with the sides of the bracket extending longitudinally of the sides of the drive and the crosspiece extending across the front of the drive. A chassis of a computer or the like has internal parallel sides formed with horizontal guides to receive the bracket, a substantially open front face and an internal connector engageable with a mating connector on the rear of the drive when the bracket is fully inserted in the chassis. The sides of the bracket have features to protect the drive from horizontal and vertical vibrations. A handle is pivoted to the crosspiece near one end moveable between at least three positions: a first or latched position parallel to the crosspiece, a second position swinging out at about a 15&deg; angle and a third position at about a 45&deg; angle. In second position a first point on the end of the handle engages the front edge of the side and a second point is about to enter a slot in one side of the chassis. As the handle is pivoted toward third position the second point engages a margin of the slot and pulls the two connectors apart. To reinsert the drive, the positions of the handle are reversed. A spring biased latch engages a hook on handle. A second spring opens the unlatched handle from the first to second positions.

A bracket having two parallel sides and an interconnecting crosspiece is attached to a disk drive or similar peripheral with the sides of the bracket extending longitudinally of the sides of the drive and the crosspiece extending across the front of the drive. A chassis of a computer or the like has internal parallel sides formed with horizontal guides to receive the bracket, a substantially open front face and an internal connector engageable with a mating connector on the rear of the drive when the bracket is fully inserted in the chassis. The sides of the bracket have features to protect the drive from horizontal and vertical vibrations. A handle is pivoted to the crosspiece near one end moveable between at least three positions: a first or latched position parallel to the crosspiece, a second position swinging out at about a 15.degree. angle and a third position at about a 45.degree. angle. In second position a first point on the end of the handle engages the front edge of the side and a second point is about to enter a slot in one side of the chassis. As the handle is pivoted toward third position the second point engages a margin of the slot and pulls the two connectors apart. To reinsert the drive, the positions of the handle are reversed. A spring biased latch engages a hook on handle. A second spring opens the unlatched handle from the first to second positions.

A computer having a compact enclosure separated into two cooperative compartments, each having a pair of air fans for cooling electrical heat generating elements located in each compartment, the pair of fans being arranged on common sides of the compartments, one fan serving as a redundant fan on the failure of one of the other fans, the compartments are interconnected on opposite sides relative to the fans by an airflow plenum and separated by an airflow blockage wall in a manner that cooling air introduced into one compartment is circulated through both compartments before being exhausted from the other compartment.

Compact computer having a redundant air moving system and method thereof

An electrical assembly that allows a plurality of electronic assemblies to be cooled by a number of fans. The assembly includes a housing which has a plenum chamber that is located between a rack chamber and a fan chamber. The rack chamber is separated from the plenum chamber by a backbone wall. The fan chamber is separated from the plenum chamber by a fan wall that is perpendicular to the backbone wall. The rack chamber contains a plurality of electronic assemblies such as hard disk drives. The fan chamber contains a plurality of individual fans. The fans induce an air flow from the rack chamber to the fan chamber through the plenum chamber. The plenum chamber provides a uniform pressure that induces an equal flow rate across each disk drive in the rack chamber. The fans are controlled by a control circuit which can detect the failure of one fan and increase the speed of the remaining fans to maintain the plenum chamber pressure. The constant plenum chamber pressure insures an equal flowrate across each disk drive even when one of the fans fails.

Hard disk drive assembly which has a plenum chamber and a fan assembly

A redundant blower unit is installed in a rack above another unit containing heat-emitting electrical elements (such as CPU cards) in order to draw air through the underlying unit and out to atmosphere. Four blowers in the blower unit draw air from a plenum, each blower discharging into an individual exhaust duct leading to the exterior. Two blowers are positioned at a first tier relative to the bottom of the plenum and the other two at a second tier higher than the first tier. If one blower fails, its exhaust duct may malfunction as an air inlet, in which case the incoming air is mixed with exhaust air and discharged through the other blower in the same tier as the failed blower. Thus the efficiency of the two blowers in the other tier is not impeded.

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Anthony N Eberhardt