US-12619291-B2 - Hot plug redundant pump with electronically controlled valve

US12619291B2US 12619291 B2US12619291 B2US 12619291B2US-12619291-B2

Abstract

A pump module for a coolant distribution unit for cooling a heat-generating component is disclosed. A manifold unit has a supply connector to supply coolant to the heat-generating component and a collection connector to collect coolant from a heat exchanger. A first replaceable pump circulates coolant and includes an inlet connector having a valve powered by a first motor. An outlet connector has a valve powered by a second motor. The first pump has an input to activate the motors to move the valves between an open position allowing coolant flow and a closed position. A second pump has an inlet and an outlet coupled to the manifold. The second pump circulates coolant from the inlet to the outlet. The first pump may be disconnected from the manifold unit by activating the motors to close the valves, while the second pump continues to circulate coolant through the manifold unit.

Inventors

Chao-Jung Chen
Huan-Shu CHIEN

Assignees

QUANTA COMPUTER INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20231004

Claims (19)

1 . A replaceable pump for circulating coolant, the pump comprising: an inlet connector having a valve powered by a first motor; an outlet connector having a valve powered by a second motor; a circulator propelling coolant between the inlet connector and the outlet connector; a valve control input to activate the first and second motors to move the valves between an open position allowing coolant flow and a closed position blocking the coolant flow; and a locking mechanism operable to keep the inlet and outlet connectors connected when the valves are in the open position.
2 . The replaceable pump of claim 1 , wherein the valves are ball valves rotated by the first and second motors.
3 . The replaceable pump of claim 1 , wherein the inlet connector includes a first electrical connector, and wherein the inlet connector is operable to be in fluid connection with another outlet connector of a separation manifold, wherein the another outlet connector of the separation manifold includes a valve powered by a third motor, the third motor controlled by the first electrical connector; and wherein the outlet connector includes a second electrical connector, and wherein the outlet connector is operable to be in fluid connection with another inlet connector of a merge manifold, wherein the another inlet connector of the merge manifold includes a valve powered by a fourth motor, the fourth motor controlled by the second electrical connector.
4 . The replaceable pump of claim 1 , further comprising a rotatable handle assembly having a locked position that prevents removal of the pump from a coolant distribution unit and a pull down position that allows removal of the pump from the coolant distribution unit, wherein the locking mechanism holds the rotatable handle assembly in the locked position.
5 . A coolant distribution unit for circulating coolant to a heat-generating component, the coolant distribution unit comprising: a manifold unit having a supply connector to supply coolant to the heat-generating component and a collection connector to collect coolant from a heat exchanger; a first pump fluidly coupled to an outlet connector of the manifold unit via a first inlet connector, the first inlet connector having a first electronically controlled valve powered by a first motor, and a first electrical connector, wherein the outlet connector of the manifold unit includes an outlet connector valve powered by a second motor, the second motor controlled by the first electrical connector, the first pump being further fluidly coupled to an inlet connector of the manifold unit via a first outlet connector, the first outlet connector having a second first electronically controlled valve powered by a third motor and a second electrical connector, wherein the inlet connector of the manifold unit includes an inlet connector valve powered by a fourth motor controlled by the second electrical connector, the first pump circulating coolant from the first inlet connector to the first outlet connector; and a second pump having a second inlet connector coupled to the manifold unit and a second outlet connector coupled to the manifold unit, the second pump circulating the coolant from the second inlet connector to the second outlet connector, wherein the first pump may be disconnected from the manifold unit when the first and second electronically controlled valves are closed to prevent coolant flow, while the second pump continues to circulate the coolant through the manifold unit.
6 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , wherein the manifold unit includes a separation manifold coupled to the first inlet connector and the second inlet connector, the manifold unit further including a merge manifold coupled to the first outlet connector and the second outlet connector.
7 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , further comprising a third pump having a third inlet connector coupled to the manifold unit and a third outlet connector coupled to the manifold unit, the third pump circulating the coolant from the third inlet connector to the third outlet connector, wherein the third pump continues to circulate the coolant when the second pump is disconnected from the manifold unit.
8 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , wherein the heat-generating component includes a heat-generating computational component and internal conduits to circulate the coolant received from the manifold unit.
9 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 8 , wherein the heat-generating component is one of an application server, a storage server, a storage device, or a network switch.
10 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , further comprising a housing having an open end, the housing holding the first and second pumps, wherein the first and second pumps may be removed from the housing from the open end.
11 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , wherein the first and second electronically controlled valves are ball valves rotated by the motors controlled by a push button for the first pump.
12 . The coolant distribution unit of claim 5 , wherein the first pump includes a locking mechanism preventing disconnection of the first pump from the manifold.
13 . A computer system comprising: a computer component having a heat-generating device, a conduit to circulate a coolant, a hot coolant connector, and a cold coolant connector; a heat exchanger configured to receive hot coolant from the hot coolant connector and to supply cooled coolant; a manifold unit fluidly coupled to the heat exchanger to receive the cooled coolant and to supply the cooled coolant to the cold coolant connector; and a pump module coupled to the manifold unit to circulate the coolant between the heat exchanger, the manifold unit, and the computer component, the pump module including: a first pump fluidly coupled to the manifold unit via a first inlet connector having a first electronically controlled valve and a second outlet connector having a second electronically controlled valve, the first pump including a first locking mechanism operable to keep the first inlet connector and second outlet connector connected when the first and second valves are in the open position, and wherein the first pump circulating the coolant from the first inlet connector to the second outlet connector; and a second pump having a second inlet connector coupled to the manifold unit and a second outlet connector coupled to the manifold unit, the second pump circulating the coolant from the second inlet connector to the second outlet connector, wherein the first pump may be disconnected from the manifold unit when the first and second electronically controlled valves are closed to prevent coolant flow, while the second pump continues to circulate the coolant through the manifold unit.
14 . The computer system of claim 13 , wherein the manifold unit includes a separation manifold coupled to the first and second inlet connectors and a merge manifold coupled to the first and second outlet connectors.
15 . The computer system of claim 13 , wherein the pump module further includes a third pump having a third inlet connector coupled to the manifold unit and a third outlet connector coupled to the manifold unit, the third pump circulating the coolant from the third inlet connector to the third outlet connector, wherein the third pump continues to circulate the coolant when the second pump is disconnected from the manifold unit.
16 . The computer system of claim 13 , wherein the computer component includes internal conduits to circulate the coolant received from the manifold unit.
17 . The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the computer component is one of an application server, a storage server, a storage device, or a network switch.
18 . The computer system of claim 13 , further comprising a coolant distribution unit having a housing, wherein the housing holds the manifold unit and pump module.
19 . The computer system of claim 13 , further comprising a rack holding the computer component, the manifold unit and the pump module, wherein the rack includes a door holding the heat exchanger.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from and benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/502,844, filed on May 17, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to liquid cooling systems, and more specifically, to a redundant pump with an electronically controlled ball valve allowing a liquid cooling system to function when a pump is taken off-line. BACKGROUND Electronic components, such as servers, include numerous electronic components that are powered by a common power supply. Servers generate an enormous amount of heat due to the operation of internal electronic devices such as controllers, processors, and memory. Overheating from the inefficient removal of such heat has the potential to shut down or impede the operation of such devices. Thus, current servers are designed to rely on air flow through the interior of the server to carry away heat generated from electronic components. Servers often include various heat sinks that are attached to the electronic components such as processing units. Heat sinks absorb the heat from the electronic components, thus transferring the heat away from the components. The heat from heat sinks must be vented away from the server. Air flow to vent away such heat is often generated by a fan system. Due to the improvement of high-performance systems, the amount of heat that needs to be removed becomes higher with each new generation of electronic components. With the advent of more powerful components, traditional air cooling, in combination with fan systems, is inadequate to sufficiently remove heat generated by newer generation components. The development of liquid cooling has been spurred by the need for increased cooling. Liquid cooling is the currently accepted solution for rapid heat removal due to the superior thermal performance from liquid cooling. At room temperature, the heat transfer coefficient of air is only 0.024 W/mK, while a coolant, such as water, has a heat transfer coefficient of 0.58 W/mK, which is 24 times than that of air. Thus, liquid cooling is more effective in transporting heat away from a heat source to a radiator, and allows heat removal from critical parts without noise pollution. In rack level liquid cooling system designs, the cooling liquid source includes a closed loop cooling system and an open loop cooling system to facilitate heat exchange. Known closed loop liquid cooling systems use heat exchange to cool hot water, which is heated from the heat source. Heat is then removed from the hot water in the closed loop liquid cooling system via an open loop system such as a radiator in proximity to a fan wall. The closed loop cooling system includes a heat source such as a computer system and a heat exchanger. A liquid flow pipe carries coolant liquid to the heat source. Heat generated by the heat source is transferred to the coolant liquid. A liquid flow pipe carries heated liquid away from the heat source. The heat exchanger has a radiator where the returned coolant flows. The radiator transfers heat from the heated liquid and thus results in cooler liquid to be circulated to the liquid flow pipe. An open loop air cooling system, such as a fan wall, generates air flow that carries away heat absorbed by the radiator of the heat exchanger. When using liquid to cool a server system, pumps are required to circulate the coolant into the heat source, into the liquid flow pipes, and through the heat exchanger. The liquid cooling system requires the pump to remain operational at all times to circulate the coolant. In current liquid cooling systems, operators need to shut down the computer system to repair or replace the pump. Thus, current liquid cooling systems may result in unnecessary computer downtime when pumps require replacement. One solution may be a backup pump or multiple pumps. In the case of a pump malfunction, one of the pumps may be removed, but the other pump or pumps may continue to operate, and thus the server system may still function. However, disconnecting the malfunctioning pump is cumbersome as connectors must be closed to prevent leaking. Moreover, the pump may be disconnected accidently before closing the connectors, resulting in leaks. Thus, there is a need for a coolant distribution unit for a liquid cooling system that allows continual operation of a computer system even when a pump is being replaced. There is another need for an automatic mechanism to divert coolant circulation to an operational pump while another pump is taken offline. There is also another need for a coolant distribution unit that allows removal of a redundant pump without coolant leaks. SUMMARY The term embodiment and like terms, e.g., implementation, configuration, aspect, example, and option, are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this disclosure and the claims below. Statements containing these