JPH0447327B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is aimed at preventing damage to electronic circuits due to condensation in a liquid cooling system for cooling electronic devices that generate heat, such as large-scale computers. Regarding the startup method to prevent.

[Prior art]

Systems for liquid cooling heat-generating electronic devices are already known. It is also known that in liquid cooling systems, rapid cooling causes moisture in the indoor air to condense, which adversely affects electronic circuits.

However, countermeasures to this problem include making the electronic circuit part airtight to prevent moisture from entering, or delaying power-on to the electronic circuit for a certain period of time after power-on (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 119426, etc.). Ta.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention aims to shorten the start-up time from turning on the main power to turning on the power to the electronic device to the minimum through more detailed control.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is an electronic device to be cooled, 2 is a drying fan that circulates indoor air inside the electronic device, 3 is a dew condensation sensor that detects the presence or absence of condensation inside the electronic device, 4
5 is a liquid temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the refrigerant liquid; 6 is a room temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the indoor air; 7 is a humidity sensor that detects the temperature of the indoor air; 8 is the room temperature and humidity a dew point calculation circuit that calculates the dew point humidity of indoor air from 9, a control circuit;
10 is a cooler that cools the coolant, 11 is a tank 4
This is a heater that heats the refrigerant liquid inside. Further, P is a pump that circulates the refrigerant liquid, SW1 to SW4 are switches, and dotted lines indicate that each switch is turned on or off under the control of the control circuit.

The operation of the control circuit of this embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart of FIG.

First, when SW0, which is the main power switch, is turned on, it is the power switch for pump P.
SW1 is automatically turned on by the control circuit.

Next, in order to average the temperature distribution of the refrigerant liquid in the tank 4, a certain period of time corresponding to the time for the refrigerant liquid discharged from the tank 4 to make a round and return to the tank 4.
Only pump P is operated.

Next, the signal from the dew condensation sensor 3 is determined.

If there is no condensation, immediately turn on SW4, which is the power switch for the electronic device 1.

In this case, if the liquid temperature is lower than room temperature or the dew point, it cannot be denied that the liquid will circulate and the temperature of the electronic device 1 will drop, causing dew condensation.
Normally, there is no problem because the heat generated by the electronic device 1 cancels it out.

Note that even after power is turned on to the electronic device 1, if the condensation sensor 3 detects condensation, the
SW4 is turned off.

If there is condensation, compare the liquid temperature measured by the liquid temperature sensor 5 and the room temperature measured by the room temperature sensor 6, or compare the liquid temperature and the dew point temperature from the dew point calculation circuit, and check if the liquid temperature is higher. If so, turn on the power switch SW3 of the drying fan 2.

If the liquid temperature is lower, SW2, which is the power switch for the heater 11, is turned on.

After that, if the signal from the dew condensation sensor 3 is judged and it is detected that the dew condensation has disappeared,
Turn off SW2 and SW3, and turn on SW4, which is the power switch of the electronic device 1.

By taking the above procedure, it is possible to always turn on the electronic device 1 in the shortest possible time.

That is, the dew condensation state at startup is generally classified into the following cases.

(b) When there is condensation and the atmosphere is also under condensation conditions.

(b) There is currently condensation, but the atmosphere is not under condensation conditions (condensation that occurred in the past remains).

C. There is no condensation, but the atmosphere is under condensation conditions.

(d) When there is no condensation and the atmosphere is not under condensation conditions.

In the present invention, the condensation sensor 3 detects whether there is actually condensation, and the liquid temperature sensor 5
The dew condensation conditions of the atmosphere are determined by the room temperature sensor 6 and humidity sensor 7, and based on these, it is possible to accurately determine which of the above cases A to D is occurring.

By operating the heater 11 and drying fan 2 according to the determination, it is possible to always start up the drying fan 2 in the shortest possible time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, in a liquid-cooled electronic device, the system can be started up in the shortest possible time without worrying about condensation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart of the control circuit. In the figure, 1 is an electronic device, 2 is a drying fan,
3 is a dew condensation sensor, 4 is a tank for storing refrigerant liquid,
5 is a liquid temperature sensor, 6 is a room temperature sensor, 7 is a humidity sensor, 8 is a dew point calculation circuit, 9 is a control circuit, 10 is a cooler that cools the coolant, and 11 is a heater.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device 1 that generates heat during operation, a tank 4 that stores a refrigerant liquid to circulate and supply cooling water to the electronic device 1, and a cooler 1 that cools the refrigerant liquid.
0 and a pump p that circulates the refrigerant liquid, the system includes a dew condensation sensor 3 that detects dew condensation in the electronic device 1, and a pump p that circulates the refrigerant liquid. A heater 11 that heats the refrigerant liquid and a control circuit 9 are provided, and in response to turning on the main power, the control circuit 9 immediately turns off the power to the electronic device 1 if the condensation sensor 3 does not detect condensation. When the condensation sensor 3 detects condensation, the heater 11 is operated to circulate the heated refrigerant liquid to eliminate the condensation inside the electronic device 1, and the condensation sensor 3 detects condensation. A method for starting a liquid-cooled electronic device, characterized in that the operation of the heater 11 is stopped and the power supply device 1 is turned on after the heater 11 has stopped operating. 2 The electronic device 1 is provided with a drying fan 2 that circulates air therein, and the control circuit 9 operates the drying fan 2 to encourage drying of the condensation when the condensation sensor 3 detects condensation. A method for starting a liquid-cooled electronic device according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3 The cooling device includes a liquid temperature sensor 5 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant liquid in the tank 4, and a room temperature sensor 6 that detects the room temperature, and the control circuit 9 controls the drying while the liquid temperature is lower than the room temperature. 3. A starting method for a liquid-cooled electronic device according to claim 2, characterized in that the operation of the fan 2 is suppressed. 4 The cooling device includes a liquid temperature sensor 5 that detects the temperature of the refrigerant liquid in the tank 4, a room temperature sensor 6 that detects the room temperature, and a humidity temperature sensor 7 that detects the humidity.
A patent characterized in that the control circuit 9 includes a dew point calculation circuit 8 that calculates the dew point temperature of indoor air from room temperature and humidity, and the control circuit 9 suppresses the operation of the drying fan 2 while the liquid temperature is lower than the dew point temperature. Claim 2
Activation method for liquid-cooled electronic equipment described in . 5. The control circuit 9 operates to inhibit the control operation while the refrigerant discharged from the tank 4 makes a round and returns to the tank 4. 4. A startup method for a liquid-cooled electronic device according to item 4.