Patent Description:
For example, mechanical cooling may provide a cool and controlled environment for the operation of conventional tape drives. Adiabatically- or fresh air-cooled datacenters are often preferred due to the costs of mechanical cooling. However, the former cooling techniques require airflow directed through the tape drives. This airflow causes temperature and humidity fluctuations within the drives and causes the drives to ingest dust and particulates. Any of these factors can negatively affect tape media integrity and I/O.

Systems are desired to cool tape drives in a cost-effective manner while addressing the shortcomings of traditional airflow-based cooling.

<CIT> describes how the integrity of the data center cooling system is maintained by using separate and independent cooling loops to collect heat from electronic components housed in modular units. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a first cooling loop is associated with each modular unit. The first cooling loop comprises a coolant that accepts heat from electronic components housed within the modular unit and transports the heat to a heat exchanging system. The heat exchanging system conducts heat from the coolant of the first loop to coolant associated with the data center cooling system. Coolant from the data center cooling system accepts heat from the coolant associated with the first loop and conveys it away from the data center.

<CIT> describes a media cartridge including a first substantially rectangular surface, a second substantially rectangular surface, and one or more side surfaces, where the first substantially rectangular surface and the second substantially rectangular surface are connected by the one or more side surfaces. Further, a disk drive assembly is enclosed by the first substantially rectangular surface, the second substantially rectangular surface, and the one or more side surfaces. In addition, the media cartridge includes a cooling component is configured to cool the disk drive assembly.

<CIT> describes a data storage library system which includes a first data storage library and a second data storage library, and at least one pass-through mechanism coupling the first data storage library to the second data storage library, wherein the at least one pass-through mechanism is configured to enable data storage cartridges to be transported between the first data storage library and the second data storage library. The environmental conditions within the first data storage library are controllable to maintain operational conditions conducive to at least one of reading and writing of data on a plurality of data storage cartridges. The environmental conditions within the second data storage library are controllable so as to gradually transition the environmental conditions between ambient environmental conditions and operational conditions within the first data storage library. Associated methods for transporting components between the first and second data storage libraries are disclosed.

The following description is provided to enable any person in the art to make and use the described embodiments. Various modifications, however, will remain readily-apparent to those in the art.

Some embodiments may provide efficient and cost-effective cooling of tape drives in a computing environment, while reducing a need to route air through the internal structure of a tape drive. By reducing this need, media integrity and/or I/O reliability may be improved, as compared to prior cost-saving cooling designs.

Generally, some embodiments provide a tape drive in which one or more passive cooling systems (e.g., heat pipes, vapor chambers, Peltier coolers) direct heat from internal components (e.g., integrated circuits, motors) to a remote cooling system (e.g., a fan-cooled radiator). The foregoing arrangement may reduce a need to provide cooling airflow within the tape drive. This advantage allows placement of the tape drive within an environment that is substantially sealed from external ambient air, while the remote cooling system is located outside of the sealed environment. Consequently, temperature and humidity fluctuations as well as particulate contamination within the tape drive may be reduced. The sealed environment may comprise a tape library including several tape drives, each of which is configured as described herein.

<FIG> is a cutaway side view and <FIG> is a cutaway top view of system <NUM> according to some embodiments. Embodiments are not limited to the configuration illustrated in <FIG>. System <NUM> may comprise a mechanical drive for reading and/or writing electronic data from/to tape media. System <NUM> includes housing <NUM> defining opening <NUM> to receive a tape cassette holding tape media. Housing <NUM> also includes several internal elements which operate in conjunction with one another to provide the intended functionality of system <NUM>. Embodiments are not limited to the internal elements described herein. Embodiments may include any type, number and arrangements of internal tape drive components that are or become known.

System <NUM> includes printed circuit board (PCB) <NUM> on which integrated circuits <NUM> and <NUM> are mounted. Integrated circuits <NUM> and <NUM> may comprise application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) as is known in the art. Embodiments may employ any number and/or type of integrated circuits.

Motor <NUM> is also mounted on PCB <NUM>. Motor <NUM> is controlled to rotate a take-up reel (not shown) of a tape cassette via an interface (e.g., a spindle) which mates with the reel. Such rotation causes tape media of the tape cassette to move past a tape head (also not shown) of system <NUM>. Embodiments may provide any system for causing relative motion between a tape head and tape media.

Integrated circuit <NUM>, integrated circuit <NUM> and motor <NUM> all produce heat during operation. First ends of each of thermally-conductive elements <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are thermally-coupled to respective components <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> to draw heat away from their respective components. Motor <NUM> is thermally-coupled to thermal pad <NUM>, which is in turn thermally-coupled to (e.g., in contact with) element <NUM>.

In <FIG>, elements to the left of barrier <NUM> are located within substantially-sealed environment <NUM>. As will be described below, environment <NUM> may comprise a tape library, but embodiments are not limited thereto. Environment <NUM> may be defined by any suitable enclosure. The sealing of environment <NUM> may prevent significant air intrusion into housing <NUM> and also reduce temperature and humidity fluctuations within housing <NUM>. Such sealing may comprise applying thermal sealant to any seams of or openings in the enclosure.

Second ends of each of thermally-conductive elements <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> are thermally-coupled to radiator <NUM> including fins <NUM>. Radiator <NUM> is cooled by fan <NUM>, which takes in air <NUM> and expels air <NUM> around radiation <NUM>. Either or both of radiator <NUM> and fan <NUM> may be substituted with or augmented by any other type of heat dissipation systems that are or become known.

Radiator <NUM> and fan <NUM> are located in environment <NUM> which is located outside environment <NUM>. Environment <NUM> may comprise ambient air within a data center. In such an embodiment, barrier <NUM> may shield components inside housing <NUM> from ambient heat, while radiator <NUM> and fan <NUM> move heat received from internal components into ambient environment <NUM>. Barrier <NUM> may be lined with thermally-insulating material (e.g., Styrofoam) to prevent heat from entering housing <NUM> and thereby reducing an amount heat to be removed from housing <NUM>.

According to some embodiments, one or more of thermally-conductive elements <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> is a heat pipe which defines at least one internal passage containing a working fluid (e.g., Freon). In one example of operation, a first end of a thermally-conductive element absorbs heat from an internal component of housing <NUM> and the heat is transferred to the working fluid therein. The heat causes the fluid to change state from liquid to vapor, which travels along the element to a second end of the element and to a cold interface between the second end and radiator <NUM>. The vapor condenses back into a liquid at the cold interface, thereby releasing latent heat. The liquid then returns to the first end through capillary action, centrifugal force, or gravity, and the cycle repeats. The working fluid mass may be selected so that the element contains both vapor and liquid over the operating temperature range.

The one or more thermally-conductive elements are not limited to the illustrated shapes and physical arrangement relative to the internal components. System <NUM> may include thermally-conductive material placed between an internal component <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and its thermally-conductive element <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>/<NUM> to facilitate heat transfer therebetween. One or more of the thermally-conductive elements may be composed of any one or more thermally-conductive materials. In some embodiments, one or more of the thermally-conductive elements comprises solid copper or aluminum. Thermally-conductive elements may comprise heat pipes, vapor chambers, metal plates, radiators, etc. The thermally-conductive elements may be thermally-coupled to heat-generating and/or other elements within housing <NUM>.

<FIG> are additional views of system <NUM> according to some embodiments, in which tape cassette <NUM> has been inserted into opening <NUM>. Tape cassette <NUM> includes reel <NUM> and take-up reel <NUM>, which rotate to move tape media <NUM> past tape head <NUM> of system <NUM>.

As shown, tape cassette <NUM> is located within environment <NUM> during operation of system <NUM>. Accordingly, heat generated during the writing or reading of data to/from tape cassette <NUM> may be moved from sealed environment <NUM> to ambient environment <NUM> using the features described above.

<FIG> is a front right perspective view of tape library <NUM> according to some embodiments. Tape library <NUM> may hold many tape cassettes and one or more tape drives to read data from and write data to the tape cassettes. The tape cassettes and/or tape drives may be accessed through access panels <NUM> and <NUM>. Tape library <NUM> may reside in a data center which may include additional tape libraries. Embodiments are not limited to a tape library of the configuration shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> is a rear view of tape library <NUM> according to some embodiments. As shown, tape library <NUM> includes six tape drives <NUM>, one or more of which may be configured similarly to system <NUM> of <FIG>. In contrast to system <NUM>, fans <NUM> of drives <NUM> are located downstream of their associated radiators (not shown).

Accordingly, an interior volume of tape library <NUM> may comprise a sealed environment such as environment <NUM> and an exterior environment of library <NUM> may comprise an ambient environment such as environment <NUM>. During operation, the features described herein may move heat away from the interior volume of tape library <NUM> and into ambient air of the exterior environment, while minimizing airflow within tape library <NUM>.

<FIG> is a cutaway side view of tape library <NUM> according to some embodiments. Tape library <NUM> includes tape cassettes <NUM>, tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, robot arm <NUM> and robot shaft <NUM>. In operation, and in response to a command from an external control system, robot arm <NUM> travels along shaft <NUM> to retrieve a selected one of tape cassettes <NUM>. Robot arm <NUM> then travels along shaft <NUM> to insert the retrieved tape into one of tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

Tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be configured as described with respect to system <NUM>. Accordingly, interior volume <NUM> of tape library <NUM> may comprise a sealed substantially-controlled environment for internal components of tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>, and a heat dissipation unit of each of tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> may be located in external environment <NUM>. Embodiments are not limited to the elements or the arrangement thereof illustrated in <FIG>.

Tape library <NUM> may be configured to maintain a substantially-sealed environment within interior volume <NUM> during removal or replacement of one of tape drives <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. Panel <NUM> is biased against tape drive <NUM> via gravity and/or hinge <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, as tape drive <NUM> is moved out of library <NUM>, panel <NUM> rotates toward the opening through which tape drive <NUM> moves. Next, as shown in <FIG>, removal of drive <NUM> results in panel <NUM> sealing the opening. Panel <NUM> may comprise a gasket or any other suitable means for suitably sealing the opening.

The foregoing diagrams represent examples of physical architectures for describing some embodiments, and actual implementations may include more or different components arranged in other manners. Moreover, each physical element, component or device described herein may be implemented by any physical elements, component or devices.

Claim 1:
A tape drive (<NUM>) comprising:
a housing (<NUM>) defining an internal volume and comprising a thermally-insulated barrier (<NUM>);
a heat-generating element (<NUM>) disposed in the internal volume;
a thermally-conductive element (<NUM>), a first end of the thermally-conductive element disposed in the internal volume on one side of the thermally-insulated barrier (<NUM>) and in thermal communication with the heat-generating element; and
a heat dissipation unit (<NUM>) disposed in an external volume (<NUM>) outside of the internal volume,
wherein a second end of the thermally-conductive element is disposed in the external volume on another side of the thermally-insulated barrier (<NUM>) and is in thermal communication with the heat dissipation unit.