Patents by Inventor Brock Robert Gardner

Brock Robert Gardner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11137563
    Abstract: A data center includes various sets of infrastructure modules which each provide a particular type of infrastructure support to support computing operations in the data center. Separate sets of infrastructure modules can be installed incrementally based on incrementally changing support capacity for the corresponding type of infrastructure support in the data center. Such incrementally changing support capacity can be based upon support requirements of electrical loads, including rack computer systems, which are inbound to the data center. Where support capacity for a particular type of infrastructure support drops below a threshold, a quantity of additional infrastructure modules which provide the particular type of infrastructure support can be selected and installed to increase the support capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Osvaldo P. Morales, Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10842052
    Abstract: A system for conveying air from one location to another includes a soft duct having a passage and an air flow control device. The air flow control device can be operated to vary a cross sectional area of a portion of the passage of the soft duct.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10826321
    Abstract: A power busway tap box with integrated uninterruptable power supply (UPS) functionality is enabled. A busway may be utilized to distribute electrical power throughout a data center. A busway tap box may incorporate one or more components providing UPS functionality. When the busway is distributing alternating current (AC) power, the tap box may incorporate a rectifier, an electrical energy storage device (e.g., a lithium-ion battery), and an inverter. The tap box may keep a substantially conventional form factor, or an extended form factor to accommodate larger electrical energy storage device sizes. The busways may run overhead in a data center and the tap boxes may physically couple with the overhead busways and be disposed beneath them. By distributing the UPS functionality throughout the data center, the impact of UPS failures may be lowered and/or environmental maintenance costs may be reduced.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Peter George Ross
  • Patent number: 10799734
    Abstract: A system includes a raised floor, a sub-floor space below the raised floor, electrical components in the sub-floor space, and a fire suppression device coupled to the raised floor. The fire suppression device dispenses fire suppression material the electrical components in the sub-floor space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2013
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Michael Phillip Czamara
  • Patent number: 10743441
    Abstract: A remote-controlled data center floor tile of a raised floor plenum is adjustable by a remote control system to selectively direct air supplied from the raised floor plenum to cool particular rack computing systems in a data center. Floor tiles can include one or more remote-controlled flow control elements that can be independently adjusted to different particular configurations to direct air to one or more specific targets. A remote control system can independently adjust various flow control elements configurations in a network of various floor tiles to manage environmental conditions in a data center, including mitigating localized temperature hotspots at particular portions of a rack computing system. Hotspot mitigation can involve responding to detection of a hotspot at a target location by configuring one or more flow control elements to direct air supplied from the raised floor plenum to supply additional air to cool the target location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Michael Phillip Czamara
  • Patent number: 10704258
    Abstract: A data center includes a floor that supports rack computing systems and walls that enclose a computing room. The computing room holds the rack computing systems. One of the walls is a movable wall. The movable wall translates relative to the other walls to increase or decrease the size of the computing room.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 7, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Michael Phillip Czamara
  • Patent number: 10684660
    Abstract: A data center can include at least one computing room, and at least one rack system disposed in the computing room. The rack system includes a rack housing and a plurality of computing devices mounted to the rack housing. The data center can further include a cooling system that includes at least one surface that is wetted with a liquid, and delivers source air across the at least one surface such that heat is transferred from the source air to the liquid so as to produce cold air. The cold air then flows into a cold air aisle and is received in the computing devices so as to cool the computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: John William Eichelberg, Brock Robert Gardner, Alan Donald Gillooly
  • Patent number: 10667425
    Abstract: An air containment structure includes walls and an aisle between the walls. Computing devices are mounted to the walls of the air containment structure and the air containment structure separates air within the aisle of the air containment structure from other air in a facility. The walls of the air containment structure are configured to support respective weights of the computing devices mounted to the air containment structure. In some embodiments, infrastructure systems, such as power bus bars, cable trays, and cooling ducts are mounted to and supported by the air containment structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Michael P. Czamara
  • Publication number: 20200116966
    Abstract: A data center includes various sets of infrastructure modules which each provide a particular type of infrastructure support to support computing operations in the data center. Separate sets of infrastructure modules can be installed incrementally based on incrementally changing support capacity for the corresponding type of infrastructure support in the data center. Such incrementally changing support capacity can be based upon support requirements of electrical loads, including rack computer systems, which are inbound to the data center. Where support capacity for a particular type of infrastructure support drops below a threshold, a quantity of additional infrastructure modules which provide the particular type of infrastructure support can be selected and installed to increase the support capacity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2019
    Publication date: April 16, 2020
    Applicant: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Osvaldo P. Morales, Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10610713
    Abstract: A data center includes a plurality of racks on a floor and one or more fire suppression systems coupled to at least some of the racks. The fire suppression systems include reservoirs mounted on the racks, a fire suppression material in the reservoir, and one or more material dispensing devices coupled to the reservoir. The material dispensing devices may dispense fire suppression material onto or into the racks in response to a fire condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Osvaldo P. Morales, Michael P. Czamara
  • Patent number: 10541099
    Abstract: Techniques for monitoring statuses of electrical connections are described. In an example, an identifier of a circuit breaker is received. A determination may be made that the circuit breaker is in an “on” state based on the identifier of the circuit breaker being received. Further, an identifier of a load connected to the circuit breaker over a power cable is received. The identifier of the load is transmitted over the power cable. A determination may be made that the load is connected to the circuit breaker based on the identifier of the load being received. The identifier of the circuit breaker, the identifier of the load, and electrical connection statuses of the circuit breaker and the load may be provided over an interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Stephanie Towner, Brian Herman
  • Patent number: 10502918
    Abstract: A data center includes various sets of infrastructure modules which each provide a particular type of infrastructure support to support computing operations in the data center. Separate sets of infrastructure modules can be installed incrementally based on incrementally changing support capacity for the corresponding type of infrastructure support in the data center. Such incrementally changing support capacity can be based upon support requirements of electrical loads, including rack computer systems, which are inbound to the data center. Where support capacity for a particular type of infrastructure support drops below a threshold, a quantity of additional infrastructure modules which provide the particular type of infrastructure support can be selected and installed to increase the support capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Osvaldo P. Morales, Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10393395
    Abstract: A louver assembly includes a heating element configured to provide heat to at least one edge of at least one blade of the louver assembly to prevent or eliminate ice build-up along the edge of the blade. Variations include fixed blades, rotatable blades, power supply lines routed through pivot points or mechanical linkages for moving blades, and different forms of heating elements such as wires that produce heat due to electrical resistance or infrared heating panels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2019
    Assignee: Aamzon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10244652
    Abstract: A wall structure includes mounting brackets for server components to be mounted to the wall structure. Different server components are coupled together via one or more data communication coupling devices, such as cables, to form a functional server. The data communication coupling devices and the server components are configured to allow the server components to be coupled and decoupled from one another to form functional servers having various configurations. In some embodiments, the server components and data communication coupling devices are accessible via an aisle adjacent to the wall structure and the server components are hot-swappable so that server components can be added to or removed from a functional server while other server components included in the functional server remain in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2019
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Michael P. Czamara, Brock Robert Gardner
  • Patent number: 10165710
    Abstract: A data center can include at least one computing room, and at least one rack system disposed in the computing room. The rack system includes a plurality of racks each having a rack housing and a plurality of computing devices mounted to the rack housing. The data center can further include a cooling system that includes a modular air distribution duct configured to direct cold air to different ones of the racks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Giorgio Arturo Pompei, Brock Robert Gardner
  • Publication number: 20180328032
    Abstract: A data center includes a floor that supports rack computing systems and walls that enclose a computing room. The computing room holds the rack computing systems. One of the walls is a movable wall. The movable wall translates relative to the other walls to increase or decrease the size of the computing room.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2018
    Publication date: November 15, 2018
    Applicant: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brock Robert Gardner, Michael Phillip Czamara
  • Patent number: 10098263
    Abstract: A data center can include an inflatable enclosure in which rack computer systems can be installed and can provide computing capacity. The inflatable enclosure includes an inflatable structure which is at least partially inflated based on cooling air discharged into the inflatable enclosure by one or more cooling modules. A cooling module can include a cooling system and a cooling air vent, where the cooling system adjustably induces a stream of cooling air and the cooling air vent adjustably directs the cooling air stream into a particular space enclosed by an inflatable structure. The inflatable enclosure can be established by separate modules positioned on opposite sides of a space and an inflatable structure which extends across the space between the modules. The inflatable structure can be extended over additional spaces to expand the inflatable enclosure, thereby providing additional space to install rack computer systems.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Stephanie Towner, Brock Robert Gardner, Giorgio Arturo Pompei
  • Patent number: 10072859
    Abstract: An inverted exhaust plenum module exhausts air from an enclosure into an ambient environment while mitigating airflow restrictions caused by ambient wind conditions, particularly headwinds impinging on exhaust vents. The plenum module includes wall elements that extend downwards from separate edges of two separate roof elements of the enclosure, forming a plenum between the wall elements that is open at the top. Exhaust vents in the wall elements exhaust air from the enclosure into the plenum to circulate into the ambient environment via the top of the plenum. By exhausting air into a plenum that extends beneath roof elements, the vents are at least partially obscured from ambient winds that might otherwise impinge on the vents. A wing element can be installed to induce exhaust airflow via lowering air pressure at the top of the plenum. The plenum module can be a separate module that is coupled to a structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: AmazonTechnologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Thomas Phillips, Robert David Wilding, Brock Robert Gardner, Peter George Ross, Timothy Logan Sadler
  • Patent number: 10070561
    Abstract: A data center can include at least one computing room, and at least one rack system disposed in the computing room. The rack system includes a rack housing and a plurality of computing devices mounted to the rack housing. The data center can further include a cooling system that includes at least one surface that is wetted with a liquid, and delivers source air across the at least one surface such that heat is transferred from the source air to the liquid so as to produce cold air. The cold air then flows into a cold air aisle and is received in the computing devices so as to cool the computing devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: John William Eichelberg, Brock Robert Gardner, Alan Donald Gillooly
  • Patent number: 10061097
    Abstract: A data center includes various sets of infrastructure modules which each provide a particular type of infrastructure support to support computing operations in the data center. Separate sets of infrastructure modules can be installed incrementally based on incrementally changing support capacity for the corresponding type of infrastructure support in the data center. Such incrementally changing support capacity can be based upon support requirements of electrical loads, including rack computer systems, which are inbound to the data center. Where support capacity for a particular type of infrastructure support drops below a threshold, a quantity of additional infrastructure modules which provide the particular type of infrastructure support can be selected and installed to increase the support capacity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Osvaldo P. Morales, Brock Robert Gardner