Patent ID: 7950244

Claim:
An apparatus for facilitating cooling of an electronics rack, the apparatus comprising: an air-to-liquid heat exchanger mounted to a door, the door being vertically, hingedly mounted along one edge to an electronics rack at one of an air inlet side or an air outlet side thereof, wherein air moves through the electronics rack from the air inlet side to the air outlet side; a system coolant inlet plenum and a system coolant outlet plenum mounted to the door adjacent to the one edge of the door hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, the system coolant inlet plenum and system coolant outlet plenum being in fluid communication with the air-to-liquid heat exchanger and facilitating passage of system coolant therethrough, the system coolant inlet plenum comprising a coolant inlet at a top portion thereof and the system coolant outlet plenum comprising a coolant outlet at a top portion thereof; a system coolant supply hose and a system coolant return hose disposed above the electronics rack, the system coolant supply hose being coupled at a first end to the coolant inlet of the system coolant inlet plenum and at a second end to a system coolant supply header of a data center containing the electronics rack, and the system coolant return hose being coupled at a first end to the coolant outlet of the system coolant outlet plenum and at a second end to a system coolant return header of the data center, wherein the system coolant supply hose and system coolant return hose are each flexible, at least partially looped and of sufficient length to allow for opening and closing of the door, and wherein the system coolant inlet plenum includes an inlet portion extending laterally away from the one edge of the door hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, the coolant inlet residing in the inlet portion of the system coolant inlet plenum, and the system coolant outlet plenum includes an outlet portion extending laterally away from the one edge of the door hingedly mounted to the electronics rack, the coolant outlet residing in the outlet portion of the system coolant outlet plenum; and a first stress-relief structure attached to the system coolant supply hose adjacent to the first end thereof, and a second stress-relief structure attached to the system coolant return hose adjacent to the first end thereof, wherein the first and second stress-relief structures relieve stress on couplings at the first ends of the system coolant supply and return hoses, respectively, during opening or closing of the door.