Patent Description:
Electronic equipment, for example servers, memory banks, computer discs, and the like, is conventionally grouped in equipment racks. Large data centers and other large computing facilities may contain thousands of racks supporting thousands or even tens of thousands of servers.

The racks, including equipment mounted in their backplanes, consume large amounts of electric power and generate significant amounts of thermal energy. Cooling needs are important in such racks. Some electronic devices, such as processors, generate so much heat that they could fail within seconds in case of a lack of cooling.

Various cooling measures have been implemented to address the thermal energy generated by the electronic assemblies. One such measure provides an immersion cooling configuration, in which the heat-generating electronic components of electronic assemblies are submerged in a container that is at least partially filled with a non-conducting cooling fluid, such as, for example, an oil-based dielectric cooling fluid. In this manner efficient thermal contact and heat transfer is achieved between the heat-generating electronic components and the cooling dielectric cooling fluid.

However, it has been observed that a portion of the thermal energy may still be released in an environment of the racks, even in the presence of cooling systems. A more sustainable cooling arrangement may thus be desirable.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches.

Document <CIT> discloses a cooling arrangement according to the preamble of claim <NUM>.

Implementations of the present technology have been developed based on developers' appreciation of shortcomings associated with the prior art.

In particular, such shortcomings may comprise (<NUM>) deficiencies to optimize heat absorption; and/or (<NUM>) significant power consumption of the cooling systems.

In one aspect, various implementations of the present technology provide a cooling arrangement for cooling an electronic device, the electronic device including a heat-generating component. The cooling arrangement includes an immersion casing that contains a dielectric cooling liquid, the electronic device being, at least in part, immersed in the dielectric cooling liquid such that the dielectric cooling liquid collects, in use, at least a first portion of a thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component and a photovoltaic device proximate to the immersion casing and configured to convert at least in part a second portion of the thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component into electric energy, the second portion having radiated from the dielectric cooling liquid and through the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, the photovoltaic device comprises a thermal energy collecting surface oriented toward the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, a shape of the thermal energy collecting surface matches at least a portion of an external side of the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, the thermal energy collecting surface is a planar surface extending parallel to a side of the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, the immersion casing is made of a metallic material.

In some non-limiting implementations, the immersion casing is made of aluminum.

In some non-limiting implementations, the photovoltaic device is disposed proximate to an upper portion of the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, the photovoltaic device is further configured to transmit the electric energy to an energy storage device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the photovoltaic device is further configured to transmit the electric energy to the electronic device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the photovoltaic device is further configured to transmit the electric energy to another electric device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the electronic device is a server.

In some non-limiting implementations, the immersion casing is mounted in rack of a datacenter, the photovoltaic device being configured to be mounted in the rack.

In a second broad aspect, the present technology provides a rack system comprising a plurality of cooling arrangements.

In a third broad aspect, the present technology provides a method for cooling an electronic device, the electronic device including a heat-generating component. The method includes inserting, at least in part, the electronic device in an immersion casing that contains a dielectric cooling liquid such that the dielectric cooling liquid collects, in use, at least a first portion of a thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component and disposing a photovoltaic device proximate to the immersion casing and configured to convert at least in part a second portion of the thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component into electric energy, the second portion having radiated from the dielectric cooling liquid and through the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, disposing a photovoltaic device proximate to the immersion casing comprises orienting a thermal energy collecting surface thereof toward the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, disposing the photovoltaic device proximate to the immersion casing comprises disposing proximate to an upper portion of the immersion casing.

In some non-limiting implementations, the method further includes storing the electric energy in an energy storage device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the method further includes transmitting the electric energy to the electronic device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the method further includes transmitting the electric energy to another electric device.

In some non-limiting implementations, the immersion casing is mounted in a rack system of a datacenter, the photovoltaic device being configured to be mounted in the rack system.

Implementations of the present technology each have at least one of the above-mentioned object and/or aspects, but do not necessarily have all of them. It should be understood that some aspects of the present technology that have resulted from attempting to attain the above-mentioned object may not satisfy this object and/or may satisfy other objects not specifically recited herein.

Additional and/or altemative features, aspects and advantages of implementations of the present technology will become apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

It should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified herein, the drawings are not to scale.

In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise, a computer system may refer, but is not limited to, an "electronic device", an "operation system", a "system", a "computer-based system", a "controller unit", a "monitoring device", a "control device" and/or any combination thereof appropriate to the relevant task at hand.

In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise, the expression "computer-readable medium" and "memory" are intended to include media of any nature and kind whatsoever, non-limiting examples of which include RAM, ROM, disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, floppy disks, hard disk drives, etc.), USB keys, flash memory cards, solid state- drives, and tape drives. Still in the context of the present specification, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium should not be construed as being the same computer-readable medium. To the contrary, and whenever appropriate, "a" computer-readable medium and "the" computer-readable medium may also be construed as a first computer-readable medium and a second computer-readable medium.

In the context of the present specification, unless expressly provided otherwise, the words "first", "second", "third", etc. have been used as adjectives only for the purpose of allowing for distinction between the nouns that they modify from one another, and not for the purpose of describing any particular relationship between those nouns.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of a rack system <NUM> for housing numerous rack-mounting assemblies <NUM>. As shown, the rack system <NUM> may include a rack frame <NUM>, rack-mounting assemblies <NUM>, a liquid cooling inlet conduit <NUM> and a liquid cooling outlet conduit <NUM>. As described more fully below, the rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> may be oriented vertically with respect to the rack frame <NUM>, resembling books on a library shelf. This arrangement may provide for mounting a large number of such rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> in the rack frame <NUM>, relative to conventional arrangements, particularly with respect to conventional arrangements of immersion-cooled rack-mounted assemblies.

<FIG> shows another perspective view of the rack system <NUM>. As shown, the rack system <NUM> may further comprise a power distribution unit <NUM> and liquid coolant inlet/outlet connectors <NUM>. It is to be noted that the rack system <NUM> may include other components such as heat exchangers, cables, pumps or the like, however, such components have been omitted from <FIG> and <FIG> for clarity of understanding. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the rack frame <NUM> may include shelves <NUM> to accommodate one or more rack-mounting assemblies <NUM>. As noted above, the one or more rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> may be arranged vertically with respect to the shelves <NUM>. In some embodiments, guide members (not shown) may be used on the shelves <NUM> to guide the rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> into position during racking and de-racking, and to provide proper spacing between the rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> for racking and de-racking.

Photovoltaic devices <NUM> (<FIG>) are also provided in the rack frame <NUM> and interleaved between the rack-mounting assemblies <NUM>. In use, the photovoltaic devices <NUM> may collect a portion of thermal energy generated in the rack-mounting assemblies <NUM> and convert the collected thermal energy into electric energy. A photovoltaic device <NUM> is described in greater details herein after.

<FIG> shows a perspective view of the rack-mounted assembly <NUM>. As shown, the rack-mounted assembly <NUM> includes a detachable frame, or "board" <NUM> of an electronic device <NUM>, and an immersion case <NUM>. The board <NUM> holds electronic components <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM> and may be immersed in the immersion case <NUM>. Although the immersion case <NUM>, board <NUM>, and electronic components <NUM> are shown as separate parts, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that, in some embodiments, two or more of these components could be combined. For example, the electronic components <NUM> could be fixed directly on the board <NUM> and/or the immersion case <NUM>. In an implementation, the immersion case <NUM> is made of a metallic material such as, for example and without limitations, aluminum.

It is contemplated that the electronic devices <NUM> may generate a significant amount of heat. For example and without limitations, the electronic device <NUM> may be a server. Consequently, the rack system <NUM> may use a cooling system to cool down the electronic devices <NUM> to prevent the electronic devices <NUM> from being damaged. In an embodiment, the cooling system may be a hybrid cooling system including an immersion cooling system and a channelized cooling system.

As used herein, an immersion cooling system is a cooling system in which the electronic device is in direct contact with a non-conductive (dielectric) cooling liquid, which either flows over at least portions of the electronic device, or in which at least portions of the electronic device are submerged. For example, in the rack-mounted assembly <NUM>, the immersion case <NUM> may contain a dielectric cooling liquid (not shown in <FIG>). Further, the board <NUM> including the electronic components <NUM> may be submerged at least in part in the immersion cooling case <NUM>. In some embodiments, the dielectric cooling liquid and the board <NUM> may be inserted into the immersion case <NUM> via an opening <NUM> at the top of the immersion case <NUM>. In some embodiments, the opening <NUM> may remain at least partially open during operation of the electronic device <NUM>, providing a non-sealed configuration for the immersion case <NUM>. Such non-sealed configurations may be easier to manufacture and maintain than sealed configurations, but may be inappropriate for, e.g., two-phase systems, in which the immersion cooling liquid may boil during operation of the electronic device <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the immersion case <NUM> may also include structures or devices for cooling the dielectric cooling liquid. For example, a convection-inducing structure, such as a serpentine convection coil (not shown) in which a flow of cooling liquid (e.g. water) is maintained may be used to cool the dielectric cooling liquid via natural convection. Alternatively or additionally, a pump (not shown) may be used to circulate the dielectric cooling liquid either within the immersion case <NUM> or through an external cooling system (not shown). In some embodiments, a two-phase system in which dielectric cooling liquid in a gaseous phase is cooled by condensation may be used. Generally, any technology or combination for cooling the dielectric cooling liquid may be used without departing from the principles disclosed herein.

In the same or other implementations, a channelized cooling system may further be provided to cool heat-generating components of the electronic device <NUM> (i.e. the electronic components <NUM>) using one or more liquid cooling units, which may also be called "cold plates" or "water blocks" (although a liquid circulating through the "water blocks" may be any of a wide variety of known thermal transfer liquids, rather than water). Examples of heat-generating components that may be cooled using such a thermal transfer device include, but are not limited to, central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), neural processing units (NPUs), tensor processing units (TPUs), power supply circuitry, and application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), including, for example, ASICs configured for high-speed cryptocurrency mining.

As depicted on <FIG>, the present disclosure describes a cooling arrangement <NUM> for cooling of the electronic device <NUM>. In this implementation, the cooling arrangement <NUM> includes a photovoltaic device <NUM> and the immersion casing <NUM> that receives the heat-transfer liquid and the electronic device <NUM> therein.

In use, the photovoltaic device <NUM> is disposed at a distance proximate to the immersion casing <NUM> and converts at least in part a portion of the thermal energy radiated through the immersion casing <NUM> into electric energy. For example and without limitation, a thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> of the photovoltaic device <NUM> may be based on a size of the immersion casing <NUM>. The thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> may range between a few square millimetres and a few square centimeters. More specifically, the photovoltaic device <NUM> is a thermophotovoltaic device that may produce electricity by collecting infrared wavelengths associated with the thermal energy radiating through the immersion casing <NUM> and subsequently converts the infrared wavelengths into electron-hole pairs within a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) medium <NUM>. These electron-hole pairs can be conducted to leads within the photovoltaic device <NUM> to produce an electric current. The TPV medium may be made for example of Ge, GaSb, GaAsInSb or any suitable semiconductor material. The range of photovoltaic conversion wavelength of the TPV medium <NUM> is adapted to the infrared wavelengths emitted by the immersion casing <NUM>. In use, the photovoltaic devices <NUM> may be fixedly attached to the rack frame <NUM> (e.g. connected to a mounting structure that is mounted onto the rack frame <NUM>).

In this implementation, the thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> is oriented toward the immersion casing <NUM> to receive thermal entry therefrom, and a back surface <NUM>. Electric current generated by the photovoltaic device <NUM> may further be directed to an electric load <NUM> connected to the thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> and to the back surface <NUM>. The electric load <NUM> may be, for example and without limitation, an energy storage device (e.g. battery) or any other electric device. For example, electric energy generated by the photovoltaic device <NUM> may be used to power one or more fans installed in a datacenter hosting the rack system <NUM>, and/or a pump of the immersion cooling system disclosed herein.

In some implementations, a shape of the thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> matches at least a portion of an external side of the immersion casing <NUM>. For example, the thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> may be a planar surface and extends parallel to a side of the immersion casing <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>. As another example, the thermal energy collecting surface <NUM> may have a curved shaped to match a curved-shape immersion casing <NUM>. In the illustrative implementation of <FIG>, the external surface of the immersion casing <NUM> is a planar surface.

In some implementations and as depicted in <FIG>, the photovoltaic device <NUM> may be disposed proximate to an upper portion <NUM> of the immersion casing <NUM>. This may increase a conversion ratio of the photovoltaic device <NUM>, given that a distribution of thermal energy radiating through the immersion casing <NUM> may provide a higher amount of radiated thermal energy at the upper portion <NUM> compared to a lower portion of the immersion casing <NUM>.

By using immersive cooling collaboratively with the photovoltaic device <NUM> to cool the electronic devices <NUM>, an in-use temperature of the dielectric cooling liquid may be higher than ambient air temperature due to its high heat capacity. Amount of radiated thermal energy that may be collected is thus increased. Using the immersion cooling system disclosed herein and the corresponding dielectric cooling liquid, the thermal radiation may be more concentrated on the walls of the immersion casing <NUM>, thereby making the collection by the photovoltaic device <NUM> more efficient.

As shown in <FIG>, each immersion casing <NUM> and thus each rack-mounting assembly <NUM> may be associated with a corresponding photovoltaic device <NUM> for collecting a portion of thermal energy thereof. As a result, the photovoltaic devices <NUM> may participate in collecting thermal energy generated by the electronic devices <NUM> and radiated through corresponding immersion casings <NUM>, and thus reduce a temperature in a vicinity of the electronic devices <NUM>. Broadly speaking, the cooling arrangement <NUM> may cool the electronic devices <NUM> through the immersion cooling described above, and by collecting radiated thermal energy by the photovoltaic device <NUM>.

In some implementations, some of the photovoltaic devices <NUM> may collaborate to convey electric energy to a same electric load <NUM> as depicted in <FIG>. In some other implementations, each photovoltaic device <NUM> may provide electric energy to a single corresponding electric load <NUM>. In the same or other implementations, electric energy generated by the photovoltaic device <NUM> may be directed to the electronic device <NUM> (i.e. the electronic components <NUM>) of the rack-mounting assembly <NUM> from which thermal energy has been collected by the photovoltaic device <NUM>, as depicted in <FIG>.

Summarily, the cooling arrangement <NUM> may provide sustainable cooling to the electronic device <NUM> by reusing thermal energy radiated through the immersion casing in the form of usable electric energy.

Even though the photovoltaic devices <NUM> are located on a longitudinal side of the electronic devices <NUM>, it is contemplated that the photovoltaic devices <NUM> may be disposed on any side (e.g. front side, rear side) of the electronic devices <NUM>. For example, <FIG> illustrates an implementation where a photovoltaic device <NUM> is disposed above a plurality of corresponding electronic devices <NUM>, facing top sides thereof. A size of the photovoltaic device <NUM> may be adapted such that a single photovoltaic device <NUM> may be disposed above a corresponding single electronic devices <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flow diagram of a method <NUM> for cooling an electronic device, such as the electronic device <NUM>, the electronic device including a heat-generating component (e.g. the electronic component <NUM>) according to some implementations of the present technology. Some steps or portions of steps in the flow diagram may be omitted or changed in order.

The method <NUM> starts with inserting, at operation <NUM>, at least in part, the electronic device in an immersion casing that contains a dielectric cooling liquid such that the dielectric cooling liquid collects, in use, at least a first portion of a thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component. The electronic device may be, for example and without limitations, a server. In some implementations, the immersion casing may be made of a metallic material such as aluminum.

In some implementations, the immersion casing may be mounted in a rack system, such as the rack system <NUM>, of a datacenter, the photovoltaic device being mounted in the rack system.

The method ends with disposing, at operation <NUM>, a photovoltaic device, such as the photovoltaic device <NUM>, proximate to the immersion casing. In use, the photovoltaic device converts at least in part a second portion of the thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component into electric energy, the second portion having radiated from the dielectric cooling liquid and through the immersion casing. In some implementations, the photovoltaic device may be oriented such that a thermal energy collecting surface thereof is oriented toward the immersion casing.

In some implementations, the photovoltaic device is disposed proximate to an upper portion of the immersion casing. This may help to increase a conversion ratio of generated electric energy over the received thermal energy for the photovoltaic device.

In the same or other implementations, a shape of thermal energy collecting surface matches at least a portion of an extemal side of the immersion casing. This may help in increasing the conversion ratio of the photovoltaic device. For example, the thermal energy collecting surface may be a planar surface extending parallel to a side of the immersion casing. As another example, the thermal energy collecting surface may be a planar surface and extends parallel to a side of the immersion casing.

In some implementations, the method <NUM> further includes storing the electric energy in an energy storage device, transmitting the electric energy to the electric device disposed in the immersion casing and/or transmitting the electric energy to another electric device. In implementations where the immersion casing is mounted in a rack system of a datacenter, said other electric device may be one or more fans of the datacenter.

Claim 1:
A cooling arrangement (<NUM>) for cooling an electronic device (<NUM>), the electronic device (<NUM>) including a heat-generating component (<NUM>), the cooling arrangement (<NUM>) comprising:
an immersion casing (<NUM>) that contains a dielectric cooling liquid, the electronic device (<NUM>) being, at least in part, adapted to be immersed in the dielectric cooling liquid such that the dielectric cooling liquid is adapted to collect,
in use, at least a first portion of a thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component (<NUM>); and
characterized by
a photovoltaic device (<NUM>) proximate to the immersion casing (<NUM>) and configured to convert at least in part a second portion of the thermal energy generated by the heat-generating component (<NUM>) into electric energy, the second portion having radiated from the dielectric cooling liquid and through the immersion casing (<NUM>).