Patent ID: 7061715

Claim:
A disk array apparatus comprising: a plurality of disk boxes each generally taking the shape of a rectangular solid, and each having an air intake plane through which air flows in and an exhaust plane provided at an end opposite to that of the air intake plane, a plurality of disk drives being aligned and installed in each of the disk boxes; a rack generally taking the shape of a rectangular solid, disk units being accommodated in said rack so as to form a plurality of stages in a vertical direction, each of the disk units being formed by putting two of the disk boxes back to back with a gap therebetween in a horizontal direction with the exhaust planes respectively of the two disk boxes being opposed to each other, ventilation being created to flow through planes of said rack respectively perpendicular to the air intake planes of the disk boxes and then through a top plane of said rack, a draft path having a width generally equivalent to a lateral width of said rack and extending in the vertical direction being formed by the gaps of the disk units accommodated in said rack; and an exhaust device disposed at an upper part of said rack, air within said rack being sucked in from the air intake planes of the disk boxes by said exhaust device so as to pass through the exhaust planes of the disk boxes and the draft path, and being exhausted through the top plane of said rack to outside by said exhaust device, wherein said exhaust device is disposed with a substantially entire surface of an air intake port of said exhaust device facing a cross-section of the draft path, the disk drives are installed in each of the disk boxes in a multi-stage form, a flow straightening plate is disposed behind the exhaust planes of the disk boxes, the flow straightening plate has a plurality of vent holes to adjust a flow rate of the air sucked in by said exhaust devices, and when the flow straightening plate is virtually divided into a plurality of divisional portions so as to correspond to the stages of disk drives, a total area of the vent holes in a divisional portion located near said exhaust device is smaller than a total area of the vent holes in a divisional portion located far from said exhaust device.