Seven Patent Families.
103 Claims.
The complete intellectual property architecture protecting the TonoForge™ containerized AI factory — spanning physical, thermal, mechanical, electrical, software, safety, and network domains.
Integrated Decentralized AI Factory Container
The foundational patent. Defines the complete apparatus: a transportable ISO container housing modular battery racks on a DC bus, liquid-cooled GPU/CPU server racks on a facility loop, and a rooftop thermal assembly. External couplings deliver recovered heat in winter and drive absorption cooling in summer.
Independent Claim
An apparatus comprising a transportable container that houses: (a) a plurality of modular battery racks coupled to a DC bus; (b) at least one server rack comprising multiple liquid‑cooled GPU/CPU nodes hydraulically coupled to a facility loop; and (c) a rooftop thermal assembly including a chiller and a heat‑recovery heat exchanger; wherein the container includes external couplings configured to deliver recovered heat to a building during a heating season and to drive a heat‑activated cooling device during a cooling season.
Key Dependent Claims
- Opposed aisles — walk-through between battery and server racks for simultaneous maintenance
- Front-serviceable batteries — removably latched, integrated BMS, fire detection, gaseous suppression
- Reversible heat pump + free cooling — thermal assembly operates in heat-pump or economizer mode
- Renewable-aware scheduling — defers non-critical workloads to surplus renewable periods, manages SoC
- DC bus with N+1 redundancy — hot-swappable rectifiers and DC-DC converters for server bus rails
- ISO-shipping compliant — lifting points, seismic anchorage, grid-forming/following power export
- DLC with QD dry-breaks — redundant pumps, supply/return temp sensors, node inlet temperature control
- Power export — grid-forming or grid-following to adjacent facility when server load below threshold
- Absorption chiller — desiccant or absorption chiller driven by recovered waste heat
- External manifold — color-coded, keyed connectors for hot/chilled water preventing misconnections
- Thermal containment — throttles server loads or isolates racks on temp/particulate anomalies
Seasonal Bidirectional Heat Reuse System
Four-mode thermal control: heat recovery, heat-activated cooling (absorption/adsorption/ORC), vapor compression, and free cooling. A controller dynamically selects mode based on ambient conditions, building demand, and COP optimization.
Independent Claim
A thermal system comprising: (a) a primary IT liquid loop receiving waste heat from liquid-cooled servers; (b) a heat-recovery HX transferring heat to a building loop during heating season; and (c) a heat-activated chiller driven by waste heat for chilled liquid during cooling season; wherein a controller dynamically selects between heat recovery, heat-activated cooling, vapor compression, and free cooling modes.
Key Dependent Claims
- Chiller types — absorption, adsorption, or organic Rankine-cycle for heat-activated cooling
- Mode inputs — ambient temp, building load demand, loop return temperature for mode selection
- Multi-port manifold — simultaneous partial heat export and IT thermal rejection
- Chilled output ≤7°C — suitable for comfort cooling or process loads
- COP optimization — automatic mode transitions driven by coefficient of performance algorithms
- 150 kW export — thermal energy to adjacent facility, logged for carbon offset settlement
- Flow balancing — proper distribution across concurrent heating and cooling loads
- BESS integration — server sleds and battery storage thermally integrated into same loop
- Remote API + OTA — secure remote programming and firmware updates, ISO 668 compliant
- Passive free cooling — engaged when external temps below economizer threshold
Hot-Swap GPU Rack & Manifold System
Per-sled hot-swap without interrupting cooling to remaining servers. Vertical supply/return manifolds, blind-mate liquid couplings, tool-free isolation valves, and per-sled leak detection.
Independent Claim
A rack assembly comprising: (a) vertical supply and return manifolds; (b) multiple server sleds each having blind-mate liquid couplings; (c) per-sled isolation valves operable without tools; and (d) a leak detection sensor below each coupling; wherein any sled is hot-swappable while remaining sleds continue liquid cooling.
Key Dependent Claims
- Extendable service shelf — supports fully-coupled sled during diagnostics
- Auto purge/prime — controller automatically purges and re-primes isolated branch
- Redundant CDU — rack-level with redundant pumps, CNC aluminum/SS manifold
- Drip-less connectors — compatible with propylene glycol, dielectric, or DI water
- Alarm integration — leak sensor triggers audible/visual alarms + orchestration notification
- Color-coded valves — indexed for physical ID, sight glass + manual vent per branch
- Auto-close — isolation valves close on sled disconnection, auto-drain pan per coupling
- Predictive analytics — notifies operators before hot-swap is needed
- Remote authorization — secure orchestration software for remote hot-swap control
- BACnet/Modbus — manifold integrates with data centre orchestration protocols
Renewable-Aware Orchestration Method
Joint optimization of electrical, thermal, and computational objectives. Ingests forecasts of renewable generation, grid price, building demand, and carbon intensity. Issues coordinated setpoints to battery inverters, server power limits, job schedulers, and thermal valves.
Independent Claim (Method)
A method of operating a containerized AI facility comprising: ingesting forecasts of renewable generation, grid price, and building thermal demand; computing a joint objective that balances electrical revenue/cost, thermal export/cooling value, and SLA penalties for AI workloads; and issuing coordinated setpoints to battery inverters, server power limits, job schedulers, and thermal valves to optimize the joint objective subject to cyber‑physical constraints.
Key Dependent Claims
- Inference scheduling — jobs advanced during surplus renewable, deferred otherwise, within latency bounds
- Thermal value — selects heat-export vs heat-driven cooling based on marginal combined value
- Cyber-physical constraints — coolant flow min, rack inlet temp, fire-zone derating, max feeder current, bandwidth
- Carbon-aware routing — routes to remote clusters when carbon intensity exceeds threshold + data residency
- Dynamic GPU power — node/rack-level caps adjusting GPU power states and memory clocks
- Battery arbitrage — charge during negative/low-price, discharge during peak/outage, within SOC window
- MPC / RL solver — model predictive control or reinforcement learning with safety filters
- Workload priority — latency-sensitive inference during grid stress; batch training to renewable windows
- Settlement logging — electrical import/export, thermal export, chilled-water, avoided emissions
- ≤5s telemetry — GPU util, rack inlet temp, coolant ΔT/ΔP, SOC, price, carbon, link RTT
Serviceability & Safety Architecture
Dual-compartment design with fire-rated bulkhead (≥60 min), independent aisles, zoned suppression, DC isolation, seismic anchorage, and LOTO. A segmented safing sequence protects both compartments independently.
Independent Claim
A container comprising: (a) a first compartment containing battery racks with front extraction into a first aisle; (b) a second compartment containing server racks accessible from an opposed second aisle; (c) a fire‑rated bulkhead with intumescent‑sealed penetrations; and (d) a roof‑vented pressure‑relief plenum; wherein both aisles permit simultaneous maintenance.
Key Dependent Claims
- Zoned suppression — clean-agent for servers, water-mist for batteries
- DC isolation — contactors open on gas concentration or thermal-runaway indication
- Cart guides — floor rails permit battery removal without entering server compartment
- Bulkhead ≥60 min — intumescent collars/putty maintaining fire rating at penetrations
- Pressure management — negative/neutral pressure in battery compartment during gas event
- Roof vents — sized for deflagration mitigation or controlled depressurization
- Panic hardware — independent doors with interlocks preventing cross-access during hazard
- Safing sequence — contactor open → HVAC shutdown → pressure relief → door control
- LOTO panel — physically separated isolation for DC battery, server power, rooftop thermal
- Seismic — anchorage + rack restraints preserve clearances under design basis earthquake
Rooftop Thermal Superstructure
A modular rooftop system anchored to ISO corner castings. Load-spreading beams support vibration-isolated chiller/dry cooler platforms. A vertical piping spine with blind-mate connectors penetrates the container roof. The entire assembly is field-removable and re-installable.
Independent Claim
A rooftop mounting system for an ISO container comprising: (a) a frame anchored to corner castings with load-spreading beams; (b) vibration-isolated platforms supporting chiller or dry cooler modules; (c) a vertical piping spine penetrating the container roof terminating in blind-mate connectors inside; wherein the rooftop system is field-removable and re-installable.
Key Dependent Claims
- Load distribution — ≥75% of roof edge length via structural cross-members
- Vibration isolation — elastomeric or spring-type, rated for fan/compressor vibrations >10 Hz
- Piping bundle — supply + return + condensate in pre-assembled weatherproof insulated chase
- Electrical harnesses — quick-disconnect alongside spine, NEMA/IP-rated bulkhead connectors
- Fall arrest — anchor points ≥1,130 kg (ANSI Z359) on superstructure
- ISO 1496-1 — lifting lugs for crane/forklift transport with superstructure installed
- Daisy-chain — multi-container clusters via shared loop extension headers
- Platform ≥2,500 kg — per module mount with integrated drip trays and overflow alarms
- Alignment sensor — ensures correct positioning before coupling fluid and power
- Pre-fabricated — factory pressure-tested, single-package ship, on-site bolt-up
Distributed Network & District Thermal Interfaces
Multi-factory coordination. A coordinator selects target factories for each AI workload based on a policy jointly optimizing electrical cost, thermal revenue, latency, and compliance. Each factory includes district thermal interfaces with flow meters, temp sensors, and automated valves.
Independent Claim
A system comprising: (a) a plurality of containerized AI factories, each with battery racks, liquid-cooled compute racks, rooftop thermal assemblies, and district thermal interfaces; and (b) a coordinator selecting a target factory for each AI workload based on a policy jointly optimizing electrical cost, thermal revenue, latency, and compliance; wherein the policy updates in real-time with telemetry from each factory.
Key Dependent Claims
- Compute-thermal signature — workloads routed by expected waste heat generation profile
- Low-carbon migration — datasets/models migrated during low-carbon windows per renewable forecasts
- Predictive demand — estimates future district thermal curves, aligns workloads with excess generation
- Renewable scheduling — favors regions with peak renewable energy generation
- Battery priority — high-reserve factories for latency-critical inference during grid congestion
- Thermal fallback — routes to secondary factory when primary’s export capacity saturated
- Blockchain ledger — energy exports/imports logged for carbon accounting or billing
- Data residency — placement constrained by jurisdictional model access policies
- District interface — flow meter + temp sensors + automated valves + pump controls
- Dual-mode district — thermal export, import, or both, based on coordinator signals
- Carbon per job — Carbon Intensity × Energy per Job computed per workload
- Audit trail — job completion, thermal export, power draw logged for compliance
Interlocking Patent Architecture
| Patent | Domain | Claims | Key Innovation |
|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | Physical + Electrical | 15 | Complete AI factory in ISO container with thermal exchange |
| P2 | Thermal Control | 14 | 4-mode system with COP-driven automatic switching |
| P3 | Mechanical + Fluid | 14 | Per-sled hot-swap with blind-mate + auto-purge |
| P4 | Software + Method | 15 | Joint objective MPC/RL with safety filters |
| P5 | Safety + Structural | 15 | Dual-compartment with fire-rated bulkhead + safing |
| P6 | Mechanical + Thermal | 15 | Modular rooftop with field-removable bolt-up |
| P7 | Network + Thermal | 15 | Multi-factory coordination with district interfaces |
| Total | 7 domains | 103 | Full-stack IP protection |
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