Connecting device

Abstract

A connection device includes a connector assembly and a heat sink assembly. The connector assembly includes a mating channel for inserting a pluggable component along a mating direction. The heat sink assembly is disposed outside the connector assembly and includes a liquid cooling plate and a sliding mechanism. The liquid cooling plate has a body and a heat sink base. The body is for coolant to flow within it. The heat sink base is floatable relative to the body and is used for thermal bonding with the pluggable component. The sliding mechanism is movably disposed on the liquid cooling plate, and a portion of the sliding mechanism extends into the mating channel and is able to be pushed against by the pluggable component. During the insertion of the pluggable component into the mating channel, the sliding mechanism is pushed by the pluggable component, causing the heat sink base to change from a state of separation from the pluggable component to a state of contact with the pluggable component.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a connection device, and more particularly to a connection device for pluggable components to be inserted. [Previous Technology]

[0002] A typical connection device includes a connector assembly for inserting a pluggable component, and a heat sink assembly mounted on the connector assembly. The heat sink assembly is used for thermal bonding with the pluggable component inserted into the connector assembly, so that the heat generated by the operation of the pluggable component can be conducted to the outside by the heat sink assembly to achieve the effect of heat dissipation. However, during the process of inserting or removing the pluggable component relative to the connector assembly, the pluggable component will rub against the heat sink assembly, scratching the thermal interface material on the surface of the heat sink assembly, resulting in damage to the heat sink assembly. On the other hand, the connector assembly of a typical connection device usually uses a metal housing as an electromagnetic shield, and the heat sink assembly (e.g., a liquid cooling plate) usually has a certain weight and is mounted on top of the metal housing, making the connector assembly prone to damage and deformation. Even worse, the heat sink assembly cannot be effectively fixed to the connector assembly. [Summary of the Invention]

[0003] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a connection device that can solve at least one of the aforementioned problems.

[0004] Therefore, the connection device of the present invention includes a connector assembly and a heat sink assembly. The connector assembly includes a mating channel for inserting a pluggable component along a mating direction. The heat sink assembly is disposed outside the connector assembly and includes a liquid cooling plate and a sliding mechanism. The liquid cooling plate has a body and a heat sink base. The body is used for coolant to flow within it. The heat sink base is floatable relative to the body and is used for thermal bonding with the pluggable component. The sliding mechanism is movably disposed on the liquid cooling plate, and a portion of the sliding mechanism extends into the mating channel and is able to be pushed against by the pluggable component. During the insertion of the pluggable component into the mating channel, the sliding mechanism is pushed by the pluggable component, causing the heat sink base to change from a state spaced apart from the pluggable component to a state contacting the pluggable component.

[0005] In some embodiments, the bottom of the heat sink is provided with a recess on each of the two sides extending along the insertion direction; the sliding mechanism includes two actuators movably disposed on the liquid cooling plate, each actuator having a protrusion extending toward the heat sink and a contact portion extending into the insertion channel and capable of being pushed against by the pluggable assembly.

[0006] In some embodiments, when the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are not yet pushed by the plug-in assembly, the protrusions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism abut against the two sides of the bottom of the heat sink extending along the insertion direction, thereby spacing the heat sink from the plug-in assembly; when the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are pushed by the plug-in assembly, the protrusions of the two actuators will move into the two recesses of the heat sink respectively, thereby causing the heat sink to move toward the insertion channel and contact the plug-in assembly.

[0007] In some embodiments, the slidable mechanism further includes two elastic members that can be pressed and compressed by the two actuators respectively. When the contact portion of the two actuators of the slidable mechanism is pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two actuators of the slidable mechanism move along the insertion direction and compress the two elastic members respectively. When the pluggable assembly is pulled out from the insertion channel, the two elastic members are released and return to their length, and respectively drive the two actuators to move in the opposite direction along the insertion direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, the radiator assembly further includes two limiting members disposed on the bottom surface of the main body, and each of the actuators also has a movable hole that extends through the upper and lower surfaces and along the insertion direction, and the movable holes of the two actuators allow the two limiting members to be inserted into each other in a relatively movable manner in the insertion direction.

[0009] In some embodiments, the bottom of the heat sink has two recesses on each side extending along the insertion direction; the sliding mechanism includes two actuators movably disposed on the liquid cooling plate, each actuator having two protrusions extending toward the heat sink and arranged along the insertion direction, and a contact portion extending into the insertion channel and capable of being pushed by the pluggable assembly. When the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are not yet pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two protrusions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism abut against four locations on the bottom of the heat sink, thereby spacing the heat sink from the pluggable assembly; when the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two protrusions of the two actuators will move into the four recesses of the heat sink, thereby moving the heat sink toward the insertion channel and causing the heat sink to contact the pluggable assembly.

[0010] The present invention provides a connecting device comprising a connector assembly and a heat sink assembly. The connector assembly includes a mating channel for inserting a pluggable component along a mating direction. The heat sink assembly is disposed outside the connector assembly and includes a heat sink base and a sliding mechanism. The heat sink base is used for thermally engaging with the pluggable component. The sliding mechanism is disposed on the heat sink assembly, and a portion of the sliding mechanism extends into the mating channel and is pushed against by the pluggable component. During the insertion of the pluggable component into the mating channel, the sliding mechanism is pushed by the pluggable component, causing the heat sink base to change from a state of being spaced apart from the pluggable component to a state of contacting the pluggable component.

[0011] In some embodiments, the bottom of the heat sink is provided with a recess on each of the two sides extending along the insertion direction; the sliding mechanism includes two actuators movably disposed on the heat sink assembly, each actuator having a protrusion extending toward the heat sink and a contact portion extending into the insertion channel and capable of being pushed against by the pluggable assembly.

[0012] In some embodiments, when the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are not yet pushed by the plug-in assembly, the protrusions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism abut against the two sides of the bottom of the heat sink extending along the insertion direction, thereby spacing the heat sink from the plug-in assembly; when the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are pushed by the plug-in assembly, the protrusions of the two actuators will move into the two recesses of the heat sink respectively, thereby causing the heat sink to move toward the insertion channel and contact the plug-in assembly.

[0013] In some embodiments, the slidable mechanism further includes two elastic members that can be pressed and compressed by the two actuators respectively. When the contact portion of the two actuators of the slidable mechanism is pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two actuators of the slidable mechanism move along the insertion direction and compress the two elastic members respectively. When the pluggable assembly is pulled out from the insertion channel, the two elastic members are released and return to their length and respectively drive the two actuators to move in the opposite direction along the insertion direction.

[0014] In some embodiments, the radiator assembly further includes two limiting members disposed on the radiator assembly, and each of the actuators also has a movable hole that extends through the upper and lower surfaces and along the insertion direction, and the movable holes of the two actuators allow the two limiting members to be inserted into each other in a relatively movable manner in the insertion direction.

[0015] In some embodiments, the bottom of the heat sink has two recesses on each side extending along the insertion direction; each actuator has two protrusions extending toward the heat sink and arranged along the insertion direction, and a contact portion extending into the insertion channel and capable of being pushed by the pluggable assembly. When the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are not yet pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two protrusions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism abut against four locations on the bottom of the heat sink, thus separating the heat sink from the pluggable assembly. When the contact portions of the two actuators of the sliding mechanism are pushed by the pluggable assembly, the two protrusions of the two actuators will move into the four recesses of the heat sink, thereby moving the heat sink toward the insertion channel and causing the heat sink to contact the pluggable assembly.

[0016] The connection device of the present invention includes a connector assembly, a liquid cooling plate, and a support frame. The connector assembly includes a metal housing. The metal housing provides a mating channel for a pluggable component to be inserted in a mating direction. The liquid cooling plate is located above the connector assembly and is used for thermal bonding with the pluggable component. The support frame is mounted on the metal housing and is used to support the liquid cooling plate. The support frame and the top of the metal housing together define an accommodating space. The accommodating space is for placing the liquid cooling plate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the support frame is made of conductive metal or insulating plastic.

[0018] In some embodiments, the connector assembly further includes an electromagnetic shielding pad located on the front side of the metal housing, the support frame is in contact with the electromagnetic shielding pad, and the support frame is made of conductive metal or plastic coated with a conductive layer.

[0019] In some embodiments, the liquid cooling plate is fastened to the support frame with screws.

[0020] In some embodiments, the connector assembly is fastened to the support frame with screws.

[0021] In some embodiments, the metal housing has recesses on both sides extending along the insertion direction to form multiple connection holes; the support frame includes two support sidewalls extending along the insertion direction, and multiple connectors respectively disposed on the inner side of the two support sidewalls, the connectors being detachably inserted into the connection holes, so that the support frame is installed on the connector assembly.

[0022] The advantages of this invention are as follows: By movably mounting the sliding mechanism on the liquid cooling plate, the heat sink can be spaced apart from the pluggable component during insertion to prevent damage caused by friction between the pluggable component and the heat sink. Furthermore, the heat sink can still thermally engage with the pluggable component when it is inserted into the sliding mechanism, thereby improving durability. On the other hand, by fixing the liquid cooling plate to the metal housing with the support frame, the weight per unit area of ​​the liquid cooling plate on the metal housing can be distributed, preventing deformation of the metal housing under load. Moreover, the accommodating space for the liquid cooling plate allows it to be restricted by the support frame, preventing it from moving forward, backward, left, or right, thus achieving a stable and effective fixation. Preferably, the support frame is secured to the liquid cooling plate and / or the metal housing with screws, further enhancing its stability.

Implementation Method

[0024] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an embodiment of the connecting device 100 of the present invention is shown. The connecting device 100 is suitable for electrically connecting multiple pluggable components 200 (four examples are given here), and includes a circuit board 1, a connector assembly 2, a heat sink assembly 3, a support frame 5, and multiple screws. For ease of explanation, the directional terms used for the connecting device 100 are defined according to the usage environment of the connecting device 100. That is, the arrow of the insertion direction X in Figure 1 points to the rear side of the connecting device 100, and the opposite direction is the front side; the arrow of the arrangement direction Y in Figure 1 points to the left side of the connecting device 100, and the opposite direction is the right side; the arrow of the up-down direction Z in Figure 1 points to the upper side of the connecting device 100, and the opposite direction is the lower side. In addition, for the sake of simplifying the description, the screws are exemplified as screws 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d depending on the connection relationship.

[0025] The circuit board 1 has a circuit pattern not shown in the figure, and the connector assembly 2 is disposed thereon. The connector assembly 2 has electrical connector components 20b such as mating slots 20a and terminals (not shown), but is not limited thereto, and includes a plurality of insertion channels 211 (four corresponding to the number of pluggable components 200) opening forward and extending along the insertion direction X. The plurality of insertion channels 211 are arranged along the arrangement direction Y, and are respectively inserted into the plurality of pluggable components 200 along the insertion direction X. Specifically, the connector assembly 2 includes a metal housing 21 providing the insertion channels 211. The metal housing 21 is, for example, constructed from a thin metal sheet by die stamping and bending, and can be used for electromagnetic shielding. Each insertion channel 211 also has a window 211a formed on the top surface of the metal housing 21.

[0026] Referring to Figures 3 to 5, the heat sink assembly 3 is disposed above the outside of the connector assembly 2 and includes a cold plate 31 and a plurality of sliding mechanisms 4. The cold plate 31 is used for thermal bonding with the pluggable assembly 200 (see Figure 1) inserted into the insertion channel 211 to dissipate heat energy, and has a main body 32 extending along the insertion direction X and the arrangement direction Y, a plurality of heat sinks 33 arranged along the arrangement direction Y and corresponding in number to the number of insertion channels 211 (four examples are given corresponding to the number of insertion channels 211), a seal 34, an outer cover 35, and two connectors 36. The interior of the main body 32 is hollow to form a meandering flow channel space 321. The flow channel space 321 is used for coolant to flow therein and has a plurality of connecting ports 321a formed on the bottom surface of the main body 32 and arranged along the arrangement direction Y. The connecting ports 321a are respectively aligned with the window 211a (see Figure 2).

[0027] A plurality of heat sinks 33 are located in the flow channel space 321 and their bottoms are respectively disposed at the connecting openings 321a. The sealing member 34 is located in the flow channel space 321, and one side of the sealing member 34 is connected to the inner wall of the flow channel space 321, and the other side of the sealing member 34 is connected to the periphery of the heat sink 33 and separated from the inner wall of the flow channel space 321. Thus, the sealing member 34 and the heat sink 33 jointly seal the connecting openings 321a, and the heat sink 33 can float relative to the main body 32 by means of the sealing member 34, so that the bottom of the heat sink 33 can protrude downward from the connecting openings 321a outside the main body 32.

[0028] The outer cover 35 is detachably disposed on the top of the main body 32 to cover the top opening of the flow channel space 321. The design of the outer cover 35 being detachable and exposing the flow channel space 321 facilitates the assembly of the heat sink 33 with the main body 32. The two connectors 36 are arranged side by side in the arrangement direction Y and are respectively located on the rear side of the main body 32 and communicate with the flow channel space 321 to guide coolant into or out of the flow channel space 321. However, in other embodiments, the heat sink assembly 3 may also be other heat sinks with a heat sink but not of the liquid cooling plate type or without a liquid cooling plate and which can float relative to the connector assembly 2, without being limited to a specific type, and in embodiments without a liquid cooling plate, the sliding mechanism 4 may be disposed on other components of the heat sink assembly 3.

[0029] Referring to Figures 7 to 10, each of the heat sinks 33 has a rectangular heat sink main body 331, an edge extension 332 extending horizontally outward from the top periphery of the heat sink main body 331, a fin portion 333 disposed on the heat sink main body 331 (see Figure 7), and a thermally conductive layer portion 334 disposed on the bottom surface of the heat sink main body 331. Each of the bottom sides of the heat sink main body 331 of each heat sink 33 has a plurality of recesses 331a arranged in the insertion direction X. The thermally conductive layer portion 334 is made of thermal interface material (TIM).

[0030] The sliding mechanism 4 is movably disposed on the main body 32 of the liquid cooling plate 31, and a portion of the sliding mechanism 4 extends into the insertion channel 211 and can be pushed against by the pluggable assembly 200 (see FIG. 1). Specifically, each sliding mechanism 4 includes two actuators 41 movably disposed at the bottom of the main body 32, and two elastic elements 42 (e.g., springs, but not limited thereto) located behind the two actuators 41. The two actuators 41 of each sliding mechanism 4 are arranged side-by-side in the arrangement direction Y and are located on both sides of the window 211a extending along the insertion direction X. Each actuator 41 has an actuator body portion 411 extending along the insertion direction X, a plurality of protrusions 412 extending from the actuator body portion 411 toward the heat sink 33, a contact portion 413 extending downward from the rear side of the actuator body portion 411, a plurality of movable holes 414 (four are given as an example, but only one is possible) penetrating the upper and lower surfaces of the actuator body portion 411 and arranged along the insertion direction X, and a pressing portion 415 extending upward from the rear side of the actuator body portion 411. The plurality of protrusions 412 are arranged in the insertion direction X and are used to abut against the heat sink 33. The contact portion 413 can movably pass through the metal housing 21 in the insertion direction X, extend into the insertion channel 211, and can be pushed against by the pluggable assembly 200. When the connector assembly 2 is not in use (i.e., when the pluggable assembly 200 is not yet inserted into the mating channel 211 of the connector assembly 2), the heat sink 33 is held elevated by the protrusion 412 of the sliding mechanism 4 and spaced apart from the pluggable assembly 200, as indicated by the bidirectional arrow D in FIG. 14. In this embodiment, the number of sliding mechanisms 4 corresponding to the number of mating channels 211 is shown as four examples. For ease of explanation, the following description of the operation of the sliding mechanism 4 and the heat sink 33 will only show one set.

[0031] Referring to Figures 11 to 19, during the insertion of the pluggable assembly 200 into the insertion channel 211, the two actuators 41 of the sliding mechanism 4, which are simultaneously pushed by the pluggable assembly 200 and thus actuate the heat sink 33 of the heat sink assembly 3, change from the state of being spaced apart from the pluggable assembly 200 as shown in Figure 14 to the state of contacting the pluggable assembly 200 as shown in Figure 19. Specifically, when the pluggable assembly 200 is inserted into the insertion channel 211 and has not yet pushed against the contact portions 413 of the two actuators 41, the plurality of protrusions 412 of the two actuators 41 of the sliding mechanism 4 abut against the two sides of the bottom of the heat sink 33 extending along the insertion direction X as shown in Figure 12, so that the heat sink 33 is raised as shown in Figure 14 and located outside the insertion channel 211 and spaced apart from the pluggable assembly 200.

[0032] When the pluggable assembly 200 pushes against the contact portions 413 of the two actuators 41 until it is fully inserted into the insertion channel 211, the sliding mechanism 4 is pushed and moves along the insertion direction X, causing the plurality of protrusions 412 of the two actuators 41 to move into the plurality of recesses 331a of the heat sink 33 as shown in FIG. 16, thereby causing the heat sink 33 to release and descend (i.e., move toward the insertion channel 211) and causing the heat sink 33 to partially extend into the insertion channel 211 as shown in FIG. 19 and contact the pluggable assembly 200. The simultaneous pushing of the two actuators 41 allows the sliding mechanism 4 to move more stably, but in other embodiments, the sliding mechanism 4 may also include only one actuator 41 and one elastic member 42, depending on the actual needs.

[0033] Referring to Figures 8 and 17, the radiator assembly 3 further includes a plurality of limiting members 37 disposed on the bottom surface of the radiator assembly 3. Preferably, the limiting members 37 are disposed on the bottom surface of the main body 32. The limiting members 37 are, for example, bolts, but are not limited thereto. The movable hole 414 is elongated and extends along the insertion direction X. The number of the limiting members 37 corresponds to the number of the movable holes 414. The movable holes 414 allow the limiting members 37 to be inserted relatively movablely in the insertion direction X. In detail, as shown in Figure 8, before the actuator 41 is pushed, the limiting member 37 is disposed on the rear side of the movable hole 414; after the actuator 41 is pushed, the limiting member 37 is disposed on the front side of the movable hole 414 as shown in Figure 17, thus preventing the actuator 41 from shifting left and right during movement.

[0034] Referring to Figures 8, 12, and 16, the two elastic members 42 are compressed in length by being pressed against the pressing portions 415 of the two actuators 41, respectively. Specifically, when the contact portions 413 of the two actuators 41 of the sliding mechanism 4 are pushed by the pluggable assembly 200, the actuators 41 of the sliding mechanism 4 (see Figure 8) move along the insertion direction X, compressing the elastic members 42 as shown in Figure 16; when the pluggable assembly 200 is pulled out from the insertion channel 211, the elastic members 42 are released and return to their original length, respectively driving the actuators 41 to move in the opposite direction along the insertion direction X, causing the sliding mechanism 4 to automatically reset.

[0035] In this embodiment, the number of protrusions 412 is illustrated by two examples. Two protrusions 412 are arranged one in front of the other and one behind the other to abut against the heat sink 33, allowing the actuator 41 to firmly abut against the heat sink 33. However, the number of protrusions 412 can also be one or more. When there is only one protrusion 412, the top of the protrusion 412 is a flat surface, which also firmly abuts against the heat sink 33. When there are multiple protrusions 412, the more protrusions 412 there are, the more firmly the actuator 41 abuts against the heat sink 33. Furthermore, the number of recesses 331a corresponds to the number of protrusions 412, also illustrated by two examples.

[0036] Referring to Figures 5, 6, and 20, the connector assembly 2 further includes an electromagnetic shielding gasket 23 located on the front side of the metal housing 21. Multiple connection holes 212 are recessed on both sides (i.e., the left and right sides) extending along the insertion direction X of the metal housing 21. The connection holes 212 are arranged along the insertion direction X. In this embodiment, the number of connection holes 212 on each side of the metal housing 21 is shown as three, but the number of connection holes 212 on each side of the metal housing 21 may also be only one, two, or more than four, and is not limited to a specific number.

[0037] Referring to Figures 2, 20 to 23, the support frame 5 is mounted around the metal housing 21 and is used to support the liquid cooling plate 31. The support frame 5 and the top of the metal housing 21 together define an accommodating space 51. The accommodating space 51 is for placing the liquid cooling plate 31. Specifically, the support frame 5 includes two bracket sidewalls 52 extending along the insertion direction X, a plurality of connectors 53 respectively disposed inside the two bracket sidewalls 52 and corresponding in number to the number of connecting holes 212, a bracket front wall 54 connected to the front side of the bracket sidewalls 52 on the left and right sides respectively, and a bracket rear wall 55 connected to the front side of the bracket sidewalls 52 on the left and right sides respectively. The bracket front wall 54 has a front wall body 541 and a front extension 542.

[0038] The two bracket sidewalls 52 respectively abut against the left and right sides of the metal housing 21, and their tops abut against the left and right sides of the liquid cooling plate 31, thereby supporting the liquid cooling plate 31. The front wall body 541 is penetrated from front to back to form a front opening 541a for the front side of the metal housing 21 to pass through. The front extension 542 extends forward from the periphery of the front opening 541a and passes through the electromagnetic shielding gasket 23. The connectors 53 of the support frame 5 are detachably inserted into the connector holes 212, so that the support frame 5 is securely installed on the connector assembly 2. In this embodiment, the support frame 5 is made of conductive metal or plastic coated with a conductive layer, and the support frame 5 contacts the electromagnetic shielding gasket 23 to achieve the electromagnetic shielding effect. However, in some other embodiments, the electromagnetic shielding gasket 23 can be omitted, in which case the support frame 5 can be made of conductive metal or insulating plastic.

[0039] Referring to Figures 2, 5, 6, and 20 to 23, preferably, the liquid cooling plate 31 and the two bracket sidewalls 52 of the support frame 5 are secured from top to bottom using a plurality of screws 6a (four examples), thus making the connection between the liquid cooling plate 31 and the support frame 5 more secure. Preferably, the bottom plate of the metal housing 21 and the left and right sides of the support frame 5 are secured from bottom to top using a plurality of additional screws 6b (four more examples), thus making the connection between the connector assembly 2 and the support frame 5 more secure. Preferably, the front side of the liquid cooling plate 31 and the support frame 5 are secured from front to back using a plurality of other screws 6c (three more examples), thus also making the connection between the liquid cooling plate 31 and the support frame 5 more secure. In addition, the support frame 5 can also be secured to the circuit board 1 from bottom to top using the four screws 6d shown in Figure 2. Preferably, the main body 32 also has two main body positioning holes 322 located on the left and right sides respectively. The metal housing 21 also has two housing positioning holes 213 located on the left and right sides respectively. Each of the bracket sidewalls 52 also has a first protrusion 521a extending upward from the top side of the bracket sidewall 52 and a second protrusion 521b extending downward from the bottom side of the bracket sidewall 52. During the assembly of the support frame 5 with the connector assembly 2 and the liquid cooling plate 31, the first protrusion 521a passes through the main body positioning hole 322 respectively, and the second protrusion 521b passes through the housing positioning hole 213 respectively, so as to achieve the effect of guiding and positioning.

[0040] In summary, by movably mounting the sliding mechanism 4 on the liquid cooling plate 31, the heat sink 33 can be spaced apart from the pluggable component 200 during insertion to prevent damage from friction between the pluggable component 200 and the heat sink 33. Furthermore, the heat sink 33 can still thermally bond with the pluggable component 200 when it is inserted and the sliding mechanism 4 is pushed, thereby improving durability. On the other hand, by fixing the liquid cooling plate 31 to the metal housing 21 with the support frame 5, the weight per unit area of ​​the liquid cooling plate 31 applied to the metal housing 21 can be distributed, preventing deformation of the metal housing 21 under load. Moreover, by providing the accommodating space 51 for the liquid cooling plate 31 to be placed inside, the liquid cooling plate 31 is restricted by the support frame 5 and cannot move forward, backward, left, or right, thus achieving a stable and effective fixation. Preferably, the support frame 5 is secured to the liquid cooling plate 31 and / or the metal housing 21 with screws, which improves the stability of the support frame 5 and thus achieves the purpose of the present invention.

[0041] However, the above description is only an embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification shall still fall within the scope of the patent of the present invention. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0023] Other features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the embodiments with reference to the drawings, wherein: FIG1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the connection device of the present invention and an embodiment of a plurality of pluggable components; FIG2 is a partial exploded view of the embodiment; FIG3 is a perspective exploded view of a liquid cooling plate of the embodiment; FIG4 is a perspective exploded view of the liquid cooling plate from a different perspective than FIG3; FIG5 is a perspective view of the embodiment, with a circuit board, a support frame, a plurality of screws and an outer cover of the liquid cooling plate removed. Figure 6 is a perspective view from a different angle than Figure 5; Figure 7 is a partial exploded view similar to Figure 5, further showing the removal of a main body, a seal, and two connectors of the liquid cooling plate; Figure 8 is a partial perspective view similar to Figure 7, further showing the removal of multiple heat sinks of the liquid cooling plate; Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the implementation details of a sliding mechanism, multiple limiting members, and the heat sinks of the embodiment; Figure 10 is an exploded perspective view from a different angle than Figure 9; Figure 11 is a top view illustrating the implementation of the embodiment and the pluggable component, with the circuit board removed; Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view along line XII-XII in Figure 11; Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view along line XIII-XIII in Figure 11; Figure 14 is an enlarged view of the circled area F1 in Figure 13; Figure 15 is a top view similar to Figure 11 illustrating variations of the embodiment and the pluggable component under different usage conditions, with the circuit board removed; Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view along line XVI-XVI in Figure 15. Figure 17 is a partial perspective view similar to Figure 8, illustrating the variations of the sliding mechanism under different usage conditions; Figure 18 is a cross-sectional view along line XVIII-XVIII in Figure 15; Figure 19 is an enlarged view of the circled area F2 in Figure 18; Figure 20 is a perspective view from different angles, illustrating the connection relationship between a connector assembly, the support frame, and the screw in the embodiment; Figure 21 is a perspective view corresponding to the perspective of Figure 20, illustrating the connection relationship between the support frame and an electromagnetic shielding gasket of the connector assembly; Figure 22 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the implementation details of the support frame, the electromagnetic shielding gasket, and the screw; and Figure 23 is an exploded perspective view from different angles than Figure 22.

Claims

1. A connection device comprising: a connector assembly including a metal housing providing a mating channel for inserting a pluggable component along a mating direction; a liquid cooling plate located above the connector assembly and for thermally bonding with the pluggable component; and a support frame surrounding the metal housing and for supporting the liquid cooling plate, the support frame and the top of the metal housing defining an accommodating space for placing the liquid cooling plate therein, the support frame including two support sidewalls extending along the mating direction, the two support sidewalls respectively abutting against the left and right sides of the metal housing and their tops abutting against the left and right sides of the liquid cooling plate, thereby supporting the liquid cooling plate.

2. The connection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The support frame is made of conductive metal or insulating plastic.

3. The connection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The connector assembly also includes an electromagnetic shielding pad located on the front side of the metal housing, the support frame is in contact with the electromagnetic shielding pad, and the support frame is made of conductive metal or plastic coated with a conductive layer.

4. The connection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The liquid cooling plate is secured to the support frame with screws.

5. The connection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The connector assembly is secured to the support frame with screws.

6. The connection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, The metal housing has recesses on both sides extending along the insertion direction to form multiple connection holes; the support frame also includes multiple connectors respectively disposed on the inner side of the two bracket side walls, the connectors being detachably inserted into the connection holes, so that the support frame is installed on the connector assembly.

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