I IIIII IIIIIIII Ill lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111
`US010820446B2
`
`c12) United States Patent
`Boyd et al.
`
`(IO) Patent No.: US 10,820,446 B2
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Oct. 27, 2020
`
`(54) APPLIANCE IMMERSION COOLING
`SYSTEM
`
`(71) Applicant: Midas Green Technology, LLC,
`Austin, TX (US)
`
`(72)
`
`Inventors: Christopher L. Boyd, Austin, TX (US);
`James P. Koen, Round Rock, TX (US);
`David Christopher Laguna, Austin,
`TX (US); Thomas R. Turner,
`Georgetown, TX (US); Kenneth D.
`Swinden, Hutto, TX (US); Mario
`Conti Garcia, Austin, TX (US); John
`Charles Tribou, Austin, TX (US)
`
`(58) Field of Classification Search
`CPC ........... H05K 7/20236; H05K 7/20272; H05K
`7/20327; HOlL 23/44
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`3,406,244 A * 10/1968 Oktay ....................... G06F 1/20
`174/15.1
`H05K 7/20236
`361/700
`
`4,590,538 A * 5/1986 Cray, Jr.
`
`(Continued)
`
`(73) Assignee: Midas Green Technologies, LLC,
`Austin, TX (US)
`
`Primary Examiner - Devon Russell
`Jeffrey Van Myers
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm -
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by O days.
`
`This patent is subject to a terminal dis(cid:173)
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 16/243,732
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Jan. 9, 2019
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2019/0200482 Al
`
`Jun. 27, 2019
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(63) Continuation of application No. 14/355,533, filed as
`application No. PCT/US2013/075126 on Dec. 13,
`2013, now Pat. No. 10,405,457.
`(Continued)
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`HOJL 23/44
`HOSK 7120
`(52) U.S. Cl.
`CPC ......... HOSK 7120236 (2013.01); HOJL 23/44
`(2013.01); HOSK 7120272 (2013.01)
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A appliance immersion tank system comprising: a generally
`rectangular tank adapted to immerse in a dielectric fluid a
`plurality of appliances, each in a respective appliance slot
`distributed vertically along, and extending transverse to, the
`long axis of the tank; a primary circulation facility adapted
`to circulate the dielectric fluid through the tank; a secondary
`fluid circulation facility adapted to extract heat from the
`dielectric fluid circulating in the primary circulation facility,
`and to dissipate to the environment the heat so extracted; and
`a control facility adapted to coordinate the operation of the
`primary and secondary fluid circulation facilities as a func(cid:173)
`tion of the temperature of the dielectric fluid in the tank. A
`plenum, positioned adjacent the bottom of the tank, is
`adapted to dispense the dielectric fluid substantially uni(cid:173)
`formly upwardly through each appliance slot. A weir, inte(cid:173)
`grated horizontally into a long wall of the tank, is adapted to
`facilitate substantially uniform recovery of the dielectric
`fluid flowing through each appliance slot. All active and
`most passive components of both the primary and secondary
`fluid circulation facilities, and the control facility are fully
`redundant, and are adapted automatically to operate in a
`fail-soft mode.
`
`10 Claims, 7 Drawing Sheets
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`1 of 14
`
`

`

`US 10,820,446 B2
`Page 2
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(60) Provisional application No. 61/832,211, filed on Jun.
`7, 2013.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,167,511 A * 12/1992 Krajewski.
`
`5,297,621 A *
`
`3/1994 Taraci
`
`2005/0259402 Al* 11/2005 Yasui
`
`2006/0126292 Al*
`
`6/2006 Pfahnl.
`
`2006/0274501 Al* 12/2006 Miller.
`
`2011/0075353 Al*
`
`3/2011 Attlesey .
`
`2011/0132579 Al*
`
`6/2011 Best .
`
`2011/0240281 Al* 10/2011 Avery
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`H01R4/0l
`361/785
`GO lR 31/2891
`165/104.13
`H02M 7/003
`361/716
`H05K 7 /20563
`361/695
`G01R31/2863
`361/690
`H05K 7/20345
`361/679.47
`H05K 7/20763
`165/104.31
`G05D 23/ 1917
`165/287
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`2 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 1 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`34b
`
`70b
`
`34a
`
`20
`
`10
`
`36
`
`12
`
`14
`
`Fig. 1
`
`J
`J
`26
`f: ~
`V
`J
`~J
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`3 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 2 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`34b
`
`38
`
`32b
`
`28b
`
`34a
`
`40
`
`•,
`
`40
`
`•:
`
`t
`
`,. ,.
`\
`
`Fig. 4
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`4 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 3 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`22
`
`14
`
`.
`3
`!
`t H:
`
`tlf !
`
`'
`
`. .
`
`.,
`
`E i
`E !
`,. . .
`'
`, ..
`
`X
`
`Fig. 5
`
`7
`
`7
`
`E i
`.
`E !
`.
`...
`·•
`
`..
`"
`
`. .,
`. ,<
`
`.
`
`.
`. ·•
`
`'
`
`! i
`i !
`'
`
`,<
`
`24
`
`.
`
`! .. V
`i
`=™
`!~
`
`"'
`
`~ ~ 2 2
`
`14
`
`Section C-C
`Fig. 6
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`5 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 4 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`36
`
`36a
`
`Fig. 8
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`6 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 5 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`18a
`
`y
`Fig.10
`18
`__ A ___________ _
`{ /7 16
`
`/ 22/ 14a
`I
`I
`I . . . . .
`. .
`
`I
`
`!*:"·
`
`··':I,.:
`
`. .
`. .
`. . . .
`. .
`
`.· ...•
`
`:l!i:
`
`I
`
`. . . . . .
`
`:•::: .···
`
`r
`
`14
`
`'
`
`68 \
`
`14b \
`
`'
`
`. .
`. .
`. .
`. .
`. .
`
`• . ···':I,;
`
`. . . . . .···•·
`
`. .
`. .
`. .
`. .
`
`. . . . . .
`. .
`. .
`. .
`
`:if::.··.··
`
`:l!i::: .··•
`
`(
`36
`
`Fig.11
`
`(
`66
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`7 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 6 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`14
`
`36
`
`{
`
`28b
`
`28
`-------------,
`i .
`........... ·:
`-------------,
`;!::EE$.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-:-:-::--=-=-=-_:-:_:-:JH
`_____________ J
`
`' 30
`
`{
`
`28a
`
`_____________ J
`
`-------------l
`-------------,
`
`_____________ J
`
`44a
`
`28
`i .
`
`' 30
`
`(
`
`30a
`
`32a
`
`32b
`
`52a
`
`52b
`
`Fig. 12
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`8 of 14
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Oct. 27, 2020
`
`Sheet 7 of 7
`
`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`22
`
`14
`
`=···0------:
`, ___________________ _
`·----------(cid:173)
`Primary
`----------·
`.. -----.--
`Controller
`1 ~---,--.---~
`---------------~
`I
`58a
`I
`I
`I
`I
`___________________ J
`
`I
`I
`I
`
`I '
`
`64
`
`28a • .
`' 30a
`
`-------------,
`-------------,
`
`·~!:::!~:-:""":-:""":-="""~-~-~-~-~-~-::---::--:-:-:-:J:--+···············
`·.,.;.
`_____________ J
`
`32a
`
`---------------------~
`
`Master
`Controller
`
`CL
`0::-
`u
`I-
`
`62
`
`s ------------------, ___ _
`
`Secondary
`Controller
`
`54a
`
`Tower
`
`SOa
`----------------(cid:173)
`·-------------------------
`
`Fig.13
`
`60a
`
`56
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`9 of 14
`
`

`

`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`1
`APPLIANCE IMMERSION COOLING
`SYSTEM
`
`CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is related to the following Provisional
`applications:
`1. Ser. No. 61/737,200, filed 14 Dec. 2012 ("First Parent
`Provisional"); and
`2. Ser. No. 61/832,211, filed 7 Jun. 2013 ("Second Parent
`Provisional");
`and hereby claims benefit of the filing dates thereof pursuant
`to 37 CFR § 1.78(a)(4). (Collectively, "Parent Provision(cid:173)
`als"). The subject matter of the Parent Provisionals, each in
`its entirety, is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`
`The present invention relates generally to electrical appli(cid:173)
`ance cooling systems, and, in particular, to an improved
`appliance immersion cooling system and method of opera(cid:173)
`tion.
`
`2. Description of the Related Art
`
`2
`modules was required. In general, such an operation, besides
`being time consuming, requires the entire system to be
`switched off, especially if the component requiring attention
`is an essential element in the system architecture, such as the
`5 central processing unit ("CPU"). One possible solution to
`this problem is to immerse circuit assemblies vertically into
`a tank containing the cooling fluid such that each of the
`various assemblies can be withdrawn independently from
`the tank for servicing, replacement, upgrade, etc. One inter-
`10 esting example of such a system is disclosed in a web(cid:173)
`presentation entitled "Puget Custom Computer's mineral(cid:173)
`oil-cooled PC", by Nilay Patel ("Puget") (posted 12 May
`2007 at 11:57 AM; a copy of which is submitted herewith).
`As noted by the author, the lack of supplemental apparatus
`15 in the Puget system to extract waste heat from the oil
`inherently limited its operating capabilities.
`Another problem with the Cray Research systems in
`particular is the nature and cost of the chosen cooling fluid:
`fluorocarbon liquids. As is known, other dielectric fluids,
`20 such as mineral oil, have better heat transfer characteristics;
`of course, being an oil, the use thereof does represent a
`greater residue problem on modules that may be repairable.
`Notwithstanding, the Puget system implemented precisely
`this design choice.
`US Patent Application Publication 2011/0132579, "Liq(cid:173)
`uid Submerged, Horizontal Computer Appliance Rack and
`Systems and Method of Cooling such a Appliance Rack",
`Best, et al. ("Best"), discloses a appliance immersion tank
`system, include support apparatus for extracting waste heat
`30 from the tank cooling fluid and dissipating to the environ(cid:173)
`ment the heat so extracted. Although an improvement in
`several respects over the prior art discussed above, this
`system exhibits, inter alia, the following problems: generally
`non-uniform flow patterns through the several appliance
`35 slots within the tank, potentially resulting in uneven cooling
`across all slots; constricted dielectric fluid supply and return
`ports resulting in unnecessarily high fluid flow velocities at
`the respective points of connection to the tank; poor scal-
`ability; and inadequate attention to fail-soft operation.
`The subject matter of all of the prior art references
`discussed above, each in its entirety, is expressly incorpo(cid:173)
`rated herein by reference.
`We submit that what is needed is an improved appliance
`tank immersion system and method of operation. In particu-
`45 lar, we submit that such a system should provide perfor(cid:173)
`mance generally comparable to the best prior art techniques
`but more efficiently and effectively than known implemen(cid:173)
`tations of such prior art techniques.
`
`25
`
`In general, in the descriptions that follow, we will italicize
`the first occurrence of each special term of art which should
`be familiar to those skilled in the art of immersion cooling
`systems. In addition, when we first introduce a term that we
`believe to be new or that we will use in a context that we
`believe to be new, we will bold the term and provide the
`definition that we intend to apply to that term.
`U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,538, "Immersion Cooled High Den(cid:173)
`sity Electronic Assembly", Cray (filed 18 Nov. 1981 and
`issued 20 May 1986) ("Cray"), is an early example of an
`immersion system for cooling electronic components during
`normal operation. On information and belief, the machine 40
`disclosed therein was the Cray-2 super-computer ("Cray-2")
`manufactured by Cray Research, Inc. ("Cray Research"), of
`Chippewa Falls, Wis. Of particular interest to the present
`application is the description of the significant advantages
`resulting from using an electrically non-conductive or
`dielectric fluid to extract heat from electronic circuit assem(cid:173)
`blies during normal operation (see, e.g., col. 1, line 66----col.
`2, line 29).
`On information and belief, Cray Research released, in
`1985, a marketing brochure entitled "The CRAY-2 Com- 50
`puter System" (a copy of which is submitted herewith)
`describing the Cray-2. Of particular interest in this brochure
`is the description therein of the significant advantages result(cid:173)
`ing from using a dielectric fluid to extract heat from elec(cid:173)
`tronic circuit assemblies during normal operation (see, pages 55
`10 and 13).
`U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,511, "High Density Interconnect
`Apparatus", Krajewski, et al. (issued 27 Nov. 1992) ("Kra(cid:173)
`jewski"), discloses another example of an immersion system
`for cooling electronic components during normal operation 60
`(see, e.g., col. 2, lines 43-51). On information and belief, a
`machine implementing the Krajewski system was also mar(cid:173)
`keted by Cray Research as a follow-on super-computer to
`the Cray-2.
`One particular problem in the vertical-stack-type systems 65
`disclosed in the above references is the necessity of draining
`the cooling fluid whenever physical access to the electronic
`
`BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In accordance with a preferred embodiment of our inven(cid:173)
`tion, ...
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL
`VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Our invention may be more fully understood by a descrip(cid:173)
`tion of certain preferred embodiments in conjunction with
`the attached drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates, in partial cut-away form, a front per(cid:173)
`spective of a tank module of an appliance immersion cooling
`system constructed in accordance with our invention;
`FIG. 2 illustrates a rear perspective of the tank module
`shown in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 illustrates a close-up perspective of a detail A of
`FIG. 2;
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`10 of 14
`
`

`

`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`3
`FIG. 4 illustrates a close-up perspective of a detail B of
`FIG. 2;
`FIG. 5 illustrates, in perspective view, several details of
`the tank shown in FIG. 1, with special emphasis on the
`dielectric fluid recovery weir integrated into the long rear
`wall of the tank;
`FIG. 6 illustrates, in cross-section view, the section C-C
`in FIG. 5;
`FIG. 7 illustrates, in perspective view, the plenum facility
`shown in FIG. 1;
`FIG. 8 illustrates, in top plan view, the orifice plate
`portion of the plenum facility shown in FIG. 7;
`FIG. 9 illustrates, in perspective view, the chamber por(cid:173)
`tion of the plenum facility shown in FIG. 7;
`FIG. 10 illustrates, in top plan view, a plurality of appli(cid:173)
`ance slots distributed vertically along, and extending trans(cid:173)
`verse to, a long axis of the tank of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 11 illustrates, in longitudinal cross-sectional view,
`the plurality of appliance slots distributed vertically along,
`and extending transverse to, the long axis of the tank of FIG.
`1;
`
`FIG. 12 illustrates, in flow schematic form, one instan(cid:173)
`tiation of a flow arrangement suitable for implementing our
`invention; and
`FIG. 13 illustrates, in control schematic form, one instan(cid:173)
`tiation of a flow control facility suitable for implementing
`our invention.
`In the drawings, similar elements will be similarly num(cid:173)
`bered whenever possible. However, this practice is simply
`for convenience of reference and to avoid unnecessary
`proliferation of numbers, and is not intended to imply or
`suggest that our invention requires identity in either function
`or structure in the several embodiments.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`INVENTION
`
`Shown in FIG. 1 (front view) and FIG. 2 (rear view) is a
`tank module 10 adapted for use in an appliance immersion
`cooling system constructed in accordance with a preferred
`embodiment of our invention. For convenience of reference,
`we have illustrated in FIG. 1 the tank facility 12 of the
`immersion module 10 in partial cut-away to emphasize
`several important internal facilities; we have shown the tank
`facility 12 in isolation in FIG. 5. In general, the tank facility
`12 comprises: a tank 14 adapted to immerse in a dielectric
`fluid a plurality of electrical appliances 16, e.g., contempo(cid:173)
`rary computer servers (see, e.g., FIG. 11), each in a respec(cid:173)
`tive appliance slot 18a distributed vertically along, and
`extending transverse to, a long axis of the tank 14 (see,
`generally, FIG. 10); an appliance rack facility 20 of con(cid:173)
`vention design adapted to suspend the appliances 16 (see,
`e.g., FIG. 11) in respective appliance slots 18 (see, FIG. 10);
`a weir 22 (best seen in isolation in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6),
`integrated horizontally into one long wall of the tank 14
`adjacent all appliance slots 18, and adapted to facilitate
`substantially uniform recovery of the dielectric fluid flowing
`through each of the appliance slots 18; an interconnect panel
`facility 24 attached to the upper rear edge of the tank 14 and
`adapted to mount various appliance power distribution
`equipment, cable interconnection panels and the like (none
`shown); and a cover 26 adapted to be opened and closed
`from the front of the tank 14 (and which may include a
`translucent portion to allow viewing of the interior of the
`tank 14 when in the closed position). In addition to the tank
`facility 12, the immersion module 10 comprises: a primary
`circulation facility 28 (portions of which are shown in both
`
`4
`FIG. 1 and FIG. 2); a secondary fluid circulation facility 30
`(of which only redundant heat exchangers 32a and 32b are
`shown in FIG. 2); and control equipment cabinets 34a and
`34b, each adapted to accommodate the module status and
`5 control equipment associated with a respective one of the
`primary circulation facilities 28a and 28b (see, FIG. 13).
`As can be best seen in FIG. 2, the primary circulation
`facility 28 ( comprising redundant sub-facilities 28a and 28b)
`comprises both passive (conduits, couplers, etc.) and active
`10 (valves, pumps, sensors, etc.) components; a subset of the
`passive components are shared, whereas, in general, the
`active components are duplicated and adapted to cooperate
`in operation as separate, redundant sub-facilities. Excluding
`the tank 14, the primary shared component is the plenum
`15 facility 36 (see, FIG. 1 and FIG. 7) comprising an orifice
`plate 36a (see, FIG. 8) and a plenum chamber 36b (see, FIG.
`9). As can be seen in FIG. 1, cooled dielectric fluid is
`pumped into both ends of the plenum facility 36 via a shared
`distribution header 38 (see, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). In general,
`20 the plenum plate 36a comprises at least one row of orifices
`vertically aligned with each appliance slot 18a, with the
`dimensions and flow rates of each set being adapted to
`provide substantially equal flow of the dielectric fluid
`upwardly into each appliance slot 18a. Preferably, each
`25 appliance slot 18a is supplied via several rows of orifices,
`thus generally tending to reduce the volume of the dielectric
`fluid exiting each orifice and to make the flow of dielectric
`fluid more uniform upwardly through the appliance slots 18.
`One further shared component is the dielectric fluid recovery
`30 facility 40 (FIG. 2) comprising a dielectric fluid recovery
`reservoir 42 (see, FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 13) positioned
`vertically beneath the overflow lip of the weir 22 and
`adapted smoothly to receive the dielectric fluid as it flows
`over the weir 22; the dielectric fluid recovery reservoir 42 is
`35 further adapted to allow the recovered fluid to be removed
`from the reservoir 42 via redundant recovery ports 44a and
`44b (only port 44a can be seen in FIG. 2 as the port 44b is
`obscured by the heat exchanger 32a; but see FIG. 12). As
`can be seen in both FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, we consider it
`40 desirable to provide a vortex breaker at the input of each of
`the recovery ports 44. Also, we provide a removable recov(cid:173)
`ery reservoir cover 46 adapted to also cover a major portion
`of the distribution header 38; note that, in both FIG. 2 and
`FIG. 3, we have illustrated the reservoir cover 46 in a
`45 partially raised orientation so as to better depict details that
`would otherwise be obscured. Note that we have constructed
`the reservoir 42 such that the average height of dielectric
`fluid above the recovery ports 44 develops sufficient hydro(cid:173)
`static head to meet the requirements of the pumps 48, while
`50 also tending to minimize the likelihood of breaking suction
`during normal operation.
`At this point in the primary circulation facility 28, we
`provide fully redundant sub-facilities 28a and 28b, each
`comprising a primary circulation pump ( 48a and 48b) and
`55 associated passive and active components which, collec(cid:173)
`tively, provide the motive power for circulating the dielectric
`fluid through the shared components and tank 14. As can be
`generally seen, each of these sub-facilities 28a and 28b is
`adapted to recover the dielectric fluid exiting the tank 14 via
`60 the weir 22, re-pressurize the recovered fluid, pass the
`re-pressurized fluid through a respective one of the heat
`exchangers 32a and 32b, and then back to the plenum
`facility 36 via the header 38.
`Shown in FIG. 12 is one flow arrangement suitable for
`65 integrating our tank module 10 into a fully redundant,
`appliance immersion cooling system, comprising the pri(cid:173)
`mary circulation facility 28 and the secondary fluid circu-
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`11 of 14
`
`

`

`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`5
`lation facility 30. In general, the secondary fluid circulation
`facility 30 comprises redundant secondary circulation sub(cid:173)
`facilities 30a and 30b, each of which is adapted to circulate
`a cooling fluid, e.g., treated water, through the respective
`heat exchanger 32a and 32b to extract heat from dielectric 5
`fluid counter-circulating therethrough and to dissipate to the
`environment the heat so extracted. In the illustrated embodi(cid:173)
`ment, each of the secondary fluid sub-facilities 30a and 30b
`comprise conventional cooling towers 50a (including fan
`facility 52a) and 50b (including fan facility 52b), and 10
`secondary circulation pumps 54a and 54b. To facilitate
`flexible operation in installations including multiple immer(cid:173)
`sion modules 10 in combination with a plurality of second(cid:173)
`ary circulation sub-facilities 30, a common header arrange(cid:173)
`ment can be implemented as illustrated in the secondary 15
`fluid circulation loop, with flow control valves located at key
`flow control points as is known.
`Shown in FIG. 13 is a control facility 56 adapted to
`monitor and control the operation of both the immersion
`module 10 (including all active components of the primary 20
`circulation facility 28), and the secondary fluid circulation
`facility 30. As will be evident to those skilled in this art,
`efficient operation of our immersion module 10 requires
`continuous monitoring and control of several essential oper(cid:173)
`ating parameters, including fluidic temperatures, pressures, 25
`conductivity and pH at several points in the primary and
`secondary circulation loops. Although the several sensory
`and control functions can be implemented using traditional
`dedicated hardware components, we prefer to employ at
`least one programmable logic controller ("PLC"), commer- 30
`cially available from any of a number of respected vendors,
`e.g., the Allen-Bradley brand of PLCs from Rockwell Auto(cid:173)
`mation, Inc. In the instantiation illustrated in FIG. 13, we
`have depicted: a primary controller 58a adapted to monitor
`and control the operation of the primary circulation sub- 35
`facility 28a as a function of the temperature of the dielectric
`fluid in the tank 14; a secondary controller 60a adapted to
`monitor and control the operation of the secondary fluid
`circulation sub-facility 30a as a function of the temperature
`of the dielectric fluid flowing through the heat exchanger 40
`32a; and a master controller 62 adapted to coordinate the
`activities of the primary controller 58a and secondary con(cid:173)
`troller 60a. As can be seen, we have incorporated into the
`primary circulation sub-facility 28a: supply and return sen(cid:173)
`sors, including a temperature probe, T, inserted into a 45
`thermowell (not shown) installed in the bottom of the
`reservoir 42 adjacent a respective return port 44a (note that,
`in FIG. 4, only one of the holes that receive the thermowells
`is illustrated, but both holes are illustrated in FIG. 12); a pair
`of sensor facilities, S, which may sense temperature, pres- 50
`sure and conductivity, as deemed desirable); and return ( and,
`if desired, supply) flow control valves and controls for the
`primary circulation pump 48a; of course, a redundant set of
`these components exists for the primary circulation sub(cid:173)
`facility 28b. In general, the goal is to maintain the tempera- 55
`ture of the dielectric fluid in the tank 14 between a prede(cid:173)
`termined minimum
`temperature and a predetermined
`maximum temperature.
`As noted above, we have provided separate control equip(cid:173)
`ment cabinets 34a and 34b, each adapted to accommodate 60
`the several components comprising a respective one of the
`primary controllers 58a and 58b. For convenience of access,
`we prefer to co-locate with each of the cooling towers 50 a
`protective housing (not shown) for the respective secondary
`controller 60. Of course, the control facility 56 can be 65
`instantiated as a single, multi-module PLC facility, with
`similar or other combinations of monitoring devices as
`
`6
`deemed most appropriate for a particular installation. Alter(cid:173)
`natively, one or more, and perhaps all, of the functions
`performed by the controllers 58, 60 and 62 may be imple(cid:173)
`mented in the form of dedicated application-specific soft(cid:173)
`ware executing on a conventional computer platform having
`the appropriate resources; indeed, it would be entirely fea(cid:173)
`sible to implement the entire control facility 56 on a server
`16 installed in a tank 14.
`One desirable enhancement that we recommend is a
`remote control facility, implemented, e.g., via the master
`controller 62 ( or by way of a direct, per-controller interface),
`adapted to facilitate remote monitoring of system status
`(e.g., temperatures, pressures, etc.) and control over system
`control parameters ( e.g., temperature and pressure limits,
`etc.) to the primary controllers 58 and secondary controllers
`60. For example, using a conventional data communication
`hardware module 64, e.g., an ethernet card implementing the
`TCP/IP protocol, a modern web browser can be adapted to
`provide a graphical user interface ("GUI") with sufficient
`functionality to facilitate monitoring and control of an entire
`installation from a remote location. Such a GUI may be
`implemented using any of a number of programming para(cid:173)
`digms, e.g., PHP, .NET and the like.
`Operational control of redundant, continuous process flow
`systems is generally well known. Preferable, each of the
`several redundant sub-facilities are routinely activated to
`assure current functionality, and to allow the inactive sub(cid:173)
`facility to be serviced according to an established schedule.
`We believe this continuous rotation of system resources to
`be so important that we recommend switching the sub(cid:173)
`facilities at least once, and preferably, several times, per day;
`although this is possible to implement manually, we prefer
`to enable the master controller 62 to control the sequencing
`of the several switch-over operations. One further aspect of
`this sophistication in control is the ability to perform stress
`testing of the several sub-systems under controlled condi(cid:173)
`tions so as to assure appropriate response to real-time
`emergencies.
`In our First Parent Provisional, we have disclosed an
`alternate embodiment comprising an appliance immersion
`tank facility wherein the function of the plenum facility 36
`is performed by a manifold facility comprising a ladder(cid:173)
`arrangement of tubular spray bars, each bar of which sup(cid:173)
`plies dielectric fluid to a respective appliance slot. As we
`noted, one particular advantage of this arrangement is that
`individual spray bars may be shut off if the respective
`appliance slot is not occupied and, thus, save energy. To
`further
`increase energy efficiency, we have provided
`optional vertical flow barriers adapted to partition the tank
`into an active portion, having active appliances, and a
`stagnant portion, having no active appliances. One further
`enhancement we disclosed is the provision of temperature
`sensors per appliance slot, such that the flow rate through
`each spray bar can be dynamically varied as a function of the
`temperature of the dielectric fluid exiting the respective slot.
`Other operative configurations will be readily perceived by
`those skilled in this art.
`In a manner analogous to the embodiment described in
`our First Parent Provisional, it would be advantageous, from
`an energy point of view, to provide a plurality of flow barrier
`plates 66 (shown by way of example only in FIG. 11), each
`adapted to be attached to the top of the plenum facility 36 so
`as substantially to block the flow of the dielectric fluid
`through the row(s) of orifices in the plenum plate 36a
`corresponding to at least a respective one of the appliance
`slots 18a; an elastomeric layer (not shown) could be pro(cid:173)
`vided on the interface surface of the plate( s) 66 to enhance
`
`Immersion Systems LLC – Ex. 1001
`PGR 2021-00104 (U.S. 10,820,446 B2)
`12 of 14
`
`

`

`US 10,820,446 B2
`
`5
`
`7
`the sealing effect. Such an arrangement would allow the total
`flow through the plenum facility 36 to be adjusted, in the
`field, as a function of the actual number of active appliances
`16 in the tank 14. Further, this arrangement can incorporate
`a relocatable vertical baffle plate 68 (see FIG. 11) adapted
`substantially to partition the tank 14 into an active portion
`14a containing the active appliances 16 and an inactive
`portion 14b containing no appliances (or at least no active
`appliances 16); preferably, the baffle plate 68 is adapted to
`be mounted in the appliance rack facility 28 in a manner
`similar to an actual appliance 16 (the baffle plate 68 need not
`fully block the flow of dielectric fluid between the active
`portion 14a and inactive portion 14b, but only significantly
`impede the flow between these portions). Note that, in the
`example scenario illustrated in FIG. 11, we have shown one
`possible arrangement of a total of 8 active appliances 16
`distributed across 16 appliance slots 18a so as to spread the
`total heat load across adjacent empty slots 18a. Such an
`optimal arrangement is possible only if less than a majority
`of the available appliance slots 18a are occupied by an active
`appliance 16. Clearly, such optional adjunct facilities
`enhance flexibility in operation, accommodating dynamic
`adjustment of the flow rates in the primary circulation
`sub-facilities 28a and 28b under variable heat loads, while
`providing opportunities to conserve energy that might oth(cid:173)
`erwise be expended moving the dielectric fluid through the
`inactive portion 14b of the tank 14. Other operative con(cid:173)
`figurations will be readily perceived by those skilled in this
`art.
`In our Second Parent Provisional, we have disclosed
`another embodiment comprising a more conventional, less(cid:173)
`modularized instantiation with appropriate flow and control
`facilities. In this embodiment, we chose to implement tank
`clusters, comprising, e.g., 4 appliance immersion tank facili(cid:173)
`ties, with substantially all of the other equipment being
`constructed from stand-alone, commercially available com(cid:173)
`ponents. Such an arrangement offers greater opportunities to
`select and install improved components, or to add enhance(cid:173)
`ments to the installation, as deemed desirable after initial
`installation. Other operative configurations will be readily
`perceived by those skilled in this art.
`As we noted above with reference to the embodiment
`illustrated in FIG. 12, the secondary flow header facility is
`well adapted to allow any secondary circulation sub-facility
`30 to be connected to any active heat exchanger 32. Such a
`facility provides great flexibility in dealing with unusual
`system conditions, especially in installations wherein the
`secondary circulation sub-facilities 30a and 30b are each
`sized to support a cluster of tank modules 10. Imagine, for 50
`example, that, while one of the secondary circulation facili(cid:173)
`ties 30, say sub-facility 30a, is being serviced, the activities
`of the set of appliances 16 in one tank 14 in the cluster are
`higher than normal, resulting in a rise in temperature in that
`tank 14 above the desired maximum. In response, the master
`controller 62 can direct Primary Controllers 58a and 58b
`assigned to tank 14 to operate both of the primary circulation
`sub-facilities 28a and 28b simultaneously, i.e., in parallel.
`Using the secondary flow header facility, the heat be