Cooling system for a computer system

Abstract

A cooling system for a computer system comprises at least one unit such as a central processing unit (CPU) generating thermal energy and a reservoir having an amount of cooling liquid, said cooling liquid intended for accumulating and transferring of thermal energy dissipated from the processing unit to the cooling liquid. The cooling system has a heat exchanging interface for providing thermal contact between the processing unit and the cooling liquid for dissipating heat from the processing unit to the cooling liquid. Different embodiments of the heat exchanging system as well as means for establishing and controlling a flow of cooling liquid and a cooling strategy constitutes the invention of the cooling system.

1 . A cooling system for a computer system processing unit, comprising:
 an integrated element including a heat exchanging interface, a reservoir, and a pump, wherein
 the reservoir is configured to circulate a cooling liquid therethrough, the reservoir including an upper chamber and a lower chamber, wherein the upper chamber and the lower chamber are vertically spaced apart and separated from each other by at least a horizontal wall and fluidly coupled together by one or more passageways, wherein a boundary wall of the lower chamber is formed by the heat exchanging interface; 
 the heat exchanging interface is adapted to provide separable thermal contact between the processing unit and the cooling liquid such that heat is dissipated from the processing unit to the cooling liquid as the cooling liquid passes through the lower chamber of the reservoir; and 
 the pump is adapted to direct the cooling liquid through the upper chamber and the lower chamber of the reservoir, the pump including a motor having a stator, a rotor, and an impeller, the impeller being positioned within the reservoir; 
   a heat radiator horizontally spaced apart and fluidly coupled to the integrated element;   a fan configured to direct air through the heat radiator, the fan being driven by a motor separate from the motor of the pump; and   a control system that is configured to independently control a speed of the pump and a speed of the fan.   
     
     
         2 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is adapted to reduce a noise of the cooling system by independently adjusting a speed of the fan and a speed of the pump while providing for a required cooling capacity. 
     
     
         3 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is part of an operating system of the computer. 
     
     
         4 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to measure one of an operating load or an operating temperature of the processing unit and control the pump based on the measured value. 
     
     
         5 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to sense a position of the rotor of the pump motor, and select a rotational direction of the impeller. 
     
     
         6 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to determine a required cooling capacity of the cooling system and adjust a rotational speed of the pump as a function of the required cooling capacity. 
     
     
         7 . The cooling system of  claim 6 , wherein the control system is configured to reduce the rotational speed of the pump if lower cooling capacity is required. 
     
     
         8 . The cooling system of  claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to adjust a rotational speed of the fan and a rotational speed of the pump to reduce noise and provide a required cooling capacity of the cooling system. 
     
     
         9 . The cooling system of  claim 8 , wherein:
 if the fan generates more noise than the pump, the control system reduces the rotational speed of the fan before the rotational speed of the pump to reduce noise; and   if the pump generates more noise than the fan, the control system reduces the rotational speed of the pump before the rotational speed of the fan to reduce noise.   
     
     
         10 . A cooling system for a processing unit positioned on a motherboard of a computer, comprising:
 a reservoir configured to be coupled to the processing unit positioned on the motherboard at a first location, the reservoir being adapted to pass a cooling liquid therethrough, wherein the reservoir includes an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the upper chamber and the lower chamber being separate cooling liquid containing chambers that are vertically spaced apart and separated by at least a horizontal wall, the upper chamber and the lower chamber being fluidly coupled together by one or more passageways positioned on the horizontal wall, the reservoir further including a heat exchanging interface configured to be placed in separable thermal contact with the processing unit, the heat exchanging interface being attached to the reservoir such that the heat exchanging interface forms a boundary wall of the lower chamber of the reservoir;   a heat radiator fluidly coupled to the reservoir and configured to be positioned at a second location horizontally spaced apart from the first location when the reservoir is coupled to the processing unit;   a fan adapted to direct air to the heat radiator to dissipate heat from the cooling liquid to surrounding atmosphere;   a pump configured to circulate the cooling liquid between the reservoir and the heat radiator, the pump including a motor having a rotor, a stator, and an impeller, the impeller being at least partially submerged in the cooling liquid in the reservoir; and   a control system configured to determine a required cooling capacity of the cooling system based on a performance parameter of the processing unit and independently adjust a rotational speed of the pump and a rotational speed of the fan to provide the required cooling capacity while reducing noise.   
     
     
         11 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the operating parameter of the processing unit is one of an operating load or an operating temperature of the processing unit. 
     
     
         12 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to select a rotational direction of the impeller. 
     
     
         13 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein, if the fan generates more noise than the pump, the control system reduces the rotational speed of the fan before the rotational speed of the pump to reduce noise, and if the pump generates more noise than the fan, the control system reduces the rotational speed of the pump before the rotational speed of the fan to reduce noise. 
     
     
         14 . The cooling system of  claim 10 , wherein the control system is configured to determine the required cooling capacity based on a type of computer processing taking place in the processing unit. 
     
     
         15 . A method of cooling an electronic component positioned on a motherboard of a computer system using a liquid cooling system, comprising:
 separably thermally coupling a heat exchanging interface of a reservoir with the electronic component positioned at a first location on the motherboard, the reservoir including an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the upper chamber and the lower chamber being separate chambers that are vertically spaced apart and separated by at least a horizontal wall, the upper chamber and the lower chamber being fluidly coupled by one or more passageways, at least one of the one or more passageways being positioned on the horizontal wall, the heat exchanging interface being coupled to the reservoir such that an inside surface of the heat exchanging interface is exposed to the lower chamber of the reservoir;   positioning a heat radiator at a second location horizontally spaced apart from the first location, the heat radiator and the reservoir being fluidly coupled together by tubing that extends from the first location to the second location; and   operating a control system of the cooling system, wherein operating the control system includes:
 controlling an operating speed of a pump to circulate a cooling liquid through the reservoir and the heat radiator, the pump including a motor and an impeller, the impeller being positioned in the reservoir; and 
 independently controlling an operating speed of a fan to direct air through the heat radiator, the fan being operated by a motor separate from the motor of the pump. 
   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein operating the control system includes determining a required cooling capacity of the cooling system based on a performance parameter of the processing unit and independently adjusting the rotational speeds of the pump and the fan to provide the required cooling capacity while reducing noise. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein operating the control system includes determining the angular position of the rotor. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein operating the control system includes selecting a rotational direction of the impeller. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the performance parameter includes one of an operating load or an operating temperature of the processing unit. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein operating the control system includes controlling the cooling system based on the type of computer processing taking place in the processing unit. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein operating the control system includes:
 establishing a preferred rotational direction of the impeller;   sensing an angular position of the impeller; and   applying a voltage to the motor of the pump to rotate the impeller in the preferred rotational direction, a sign of the voltage being selected based on the preferred rotational direction.