Blind insertion type liquid connector assembly

Abstract

The invention provides a blind insertion type liquid connector assembly. The blind insertion type liquid connector assembly comprises an insertion fixing base, a radial sliding piece and a rotary connector. The insertion fixing seat is provided with a sliding space and a first liquid channel communicated with the sliding space. The radial sliding piece is provided with a ball socket and can be arranged in the sliding space in a radial sliding mode. The rotary joint comprises a ball head part and a blind insertion part. The ball head part is provided with a second liquid channel communicated with the first liquid channel and is rotatably arranged in the ball socket. The blind insertion part extends out of the ball head part and is used for being inserted into a liquid connector in a blind mode. When the rotary type connector is inserted into the liquid connector in a blind mode, the radial sliding piece slides in the sliding space, the ball head portion rotates relatively in the ball socket, and therefore a first center shaft of the rotary type connector is aligned with a second center shaft of the liquid connector, and blind insertion is completed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of liquid joint assemblies, and more particularly to a blind plug type liquid joint assembly. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of technology, the power density of electronic devices (such as servers) continues to rise, and traditional air cooling is difficult to meet the increasingly stringent heat dissipation requirements. For this reason, modern data centers are actively upgrading air-cooled servers to liquid-cooled servers.

[0003] Liquid-cooled servers are usually connected to the manifold in the cabinet by plugging male and female joints together to ensure the smooth flow of the coolant. To improve the operation and maintenance efficiency and achieve quick and convenient disassembly and assembly, the industry generally uses blind plug type joints (such as the UQDB series). Compared with ordinary joints, the existing blind plug joint design has a radial floating amount of about one millimeter (taking the technical specifications of the UQDB series as an example), which can allow a certain degree of radial deviation during the blind plugging process.

[0004] However, in addition to the radial deviation, due to the continuous accumulation of tolerances during the manufacturing and assembly processes, obvious angular deviations are generated, resulting in the need for repeated adjustments during the plugging process, which not only consumes a lot of time, but may even lead to plugging failure. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the fact that in the background art, the blind plug joint only has a radial floating amount of about one millimeter, although it can allow a certain degree of radial deviation, in actual applications, it is still easily affected by the angular deviation, resulting in the need for repeated adjustments during the plugging process, which not only consumes a lot of time, but may even lead to plugging failure.

[0006] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a blind plug type liquid joint assembly, in which a radial sliding member slides in a sliding space to correspond to the radial deviation, and a spherical head rotates relative to a spherical socket to correspond to the angular deviation, so that the first central axis of the rotary joint is aligned with the second central axis of the liquid joint to complete the blind plugging, thereby solving the problems of consuming a lot of time during plugging and plugging failure.

[0007] Accordingly, a necessary technical means adopted by the present invention to solve the problems of the background art is to provide a blind plug type liquid joint assembly, including a plugging and fixing seat, a radial sliding member and a rotary joint. The plugging and fixing seat has a sliding space and a first liquid passage communicating with the sliding space.

[0008] Preferably, the plug-in fixing seat includes a seat body and a cover body. The seat body has a first liquid channel, and the cover body is locked to the seat body and together with the seat body encloses a sliding space. More preferably, the seat body includes a receiving portion and a fixing portion. The receiving portion and the cover body together enclose the sliding space. The fixing portion extends from the receiving portion away from the cover body and has the first liquid channel. More preferably, the cover body is provided with a limiting groove communicating with the sliding space, and the limiting groove is used to limit the rotation angle of the blind insertion portion.

[0009] The radial sliding member has a ball socket communicating with the first liquid channel, and is slidably disposed in the sliding space so that a sliding gap is formed between the radial sliding member and the sliding space, and the first liquid channel is kept isolated from the sliding gap. Preferably, the blind plug type liquid joint assembly further includes a first sealing rubber ring. The first sealing rubber ring is disposed between the radial sliding member and the plug-in fixing seat, adjacent to the first liquid channel.

[0010] Preferably, the radial sliding member includes a first housing and a second housing. After the second housing is assembled to the first housing, it together with the first housing encloses the ball socket. More preferably, the blind plug type liquid joint assembly further includes a second sealing rubber ring. The second sealing rubber ring is disposed between the first housing and the second housing.

[0011] The rotary joint includes a ball head portion and a blind insertion portion. The ball head portion has a second liquid channel communicating with the first liquid channel, and is rotatably disposed in the ball socket, and the second liquid channel is kept isolated from the sliding gap by means of the radial sliding member. The blind insertion portion extends from the ball head portion away from the first liquid channel for blind insertion into a liquid joint so that the second liquid channel communicates with a third liquid channel in the liquid joint.

[0012] When the rotary joint is blindly inserted into the liquid joint, the radial sliding member slides in the sliding space and the ball head portion rotates relative to the ball socket so that a first central axis of the rotary joint is aligned with a second central axis of the liquid joint to complete the blind insertion.

[0013] Based on the above necessary technical means, the following subsidiary technical means can be further derived. Preferably, the rotary joint and the liquid joint are respectively a rotary male joint and a liquid female joint.

[0014] Based on the above necessary technical means, the following subsidiary technical means can be further derived. Preferably, the rotary joint and the liquid joint are respectively a rotary female joint and a liquid male joint.

[0015] In summary, for the blind-mating liquid joint assembly provided by the present invention, the radial sliding member slides in the sliding space to correspond to the radial deviation, and the spherical head rotates relative to the spherical socket to correspond to the angular deviation, so that the first central axis of the rotary joint is aligned with the second central axis of the liquid joint to complete the blind mating, thereby solving the problems of consuming a large amount of time during mating and mating failure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, and thus should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0017] Figure 1 Stereoscopic schematic diagram of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly and the liquid joint provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 2 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly from another perspective provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 Provided by the embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 Stereoscopic sectional view along the A-A section in

[0021] Figure 5 Provided by the embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 Planar sectional view along the A-A section in

[0022] Figure 6 Planar sectional view of the radial sliding member sliding in the sliding space and the spherical head rotating relative to the spherical socket provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 7 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly fixed in front of the liquid-cooled server provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 8 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly before being inserted into the liquid joint provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 9 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind-mating liquid joint assembly from another perspective before being inserted into the liquid joint provided by the embodiment of the present invention; and

[0026] Figure 10 Stereoscopic schematic diagram of the blind pluggable liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention after being plugged into the liquid joint.

[0027] Main element symbol description:

[0028] In the figure, 100 - blind pluggable liquid joint assembly; 200 - liquid joint; 300 - liquid-cooled server; 400 - cabinet; 401 - manifold; 1 - plugging and fixing seat; 11 - seat body; 111 - accommodating part; 112 - fixing part; 12 - cover body; 2 - radial sliding part; 21 - first shell; 22 - second shell; 3 - rotary joint; 31 - ball head; 32 - blind plugging part; 4a - first sealing rubber ring; 4b - second sealing rubber ring; 4c - third sealing rubber ring; CA1 - first central axis; CA2 - second central axis; LC1 - first liquid channel; LC2 - second liquid channel; LC3 - third liquid channel; SS - sliding space; SG - sliding gap; BS - ball socket; LG - limiting groove. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] Since the blind pluggable liquid joint assembly provided by the present invention can be widely applied to various electronic devices, it will not be elaborated one by one here. Only one preferred embodiment is listed for specific illustration, and this embodiment is only used to conveniently and clearly assist in explaining the purpose and effect of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 , Figure 1 Stereoscopic schematic diagram of the blind pluggable liquid joint assembly and the liquid joint provided by the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind pluggable liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 Stereoscopic exploded view of the blind pluggable liquid joint assembly from another perspective provided by the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 Provided by the embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 Stereoscopic sectional view along the A-A section in Figure 5 Provided by the embodiment of the present invention Figure 1 Planar sectional view along the A-A section in Figure 6 Planar sectional view of the radial sliding part sliding in the sliding space and the ball head rotating relative to the ball socket provided by the embodiment of the present invention.

[0031] As Figures 1 to 6 shown, a blind pluggable liquid joint assembly 100 includes a plugging and fixing seat 1, a radial sliding part 2 and a rotary joint 3. The plugging and fixing seat 1 has a sliding space SS and a first liquid channel LC1 communicating with the sliding space SS.

[0032] In this embodiment, the plug-in fixing base 1 includes a base body 11 and a cover body 12. The base body 11 has a first liquid channel LC1. The cover body 12 is locked to the base body 11 and together with the base body 11 defines a sliding space SS. In addition, the cover body 12 is provided with a limiting groove LG communicating with the sliding space SS. The limiting groove LG is used to limit the rotation angle of the rotary joint 3 (not shown in the figure).

[0033] In this embodiment, the base body 11 includes a receiving portion 111 and a fixing portion 112. The receiving portion 111 and the cover body 12 together define the sliding space SS. The fixing portion 112 extends from the receiving portion 111 away from the cover body 12 and has the first liquid channel LC1. In addition, the fixing portion 112 is provided with an external thread for locking to a liquid-cooled server 300 (shown in Figure 7 ). In other embodiments, the fixing portion 112 can be fixed by other fixing means (such as integrally formed).

[0034] The radial sliding member 2 has a ball socket BS communicating with the first liquid channel LC1, and is slidably disposed in the sliding space SS so that a sliding gap SG is formed between the radial sliding member 2 and the sliding space SS, and the first liquid channel LC1 is kept isolated from the sliding gap SG. In this embodiment, the radial sliding member 2 includes a first housing 21 and a second housing 22. After the second housing 22 is assembled to the first housing 21, the second housing 22 and the first housing 21 together define the ball socket BS.

[0035] The rotary joint 3 includes a ball head portion 31 and a blind plug portion 32. The ball head portion 31 has a second liquid channel LC2 communicating with the first liquid channel LC1, and is rotatably disposed in the ball socket BS, and the second liquid channel LC2 is kept isolated from the sliding gap SG by the radial sliding member 2. The blind plug portion 32 extends from the ball head portion 31 away from the first liquid channel LC1 for blind plugging into a liquid joint 200 so that the second liquid channel LC2 communicates with a third liquid channel LC3 located in the liquid joint 200. In addition, the rotation angle of the blind plug portion 32 is limited by the limiting groove LG.

[0036] In this embodiment, the liquid joint 200 and the rotary joint 3 are respectively a liquid female joint (such as the UQDB series) and a rotary male joint, but not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the liquid joint 200 and the rotary joint 3 can be, for example, a liquid male joint (such as the UQDB series) and a rotary female joint respectively.

[0037] Actually, in order to achieve the docking of the male and female connectors, the internal structures of the liquid joint 200 and the rotary joint 3 further include a plurality of working elements (not shown in the figure). However, since the main purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of radial deviation and angular deviation, rather than the details of internal docking, therefore, in the present inventionFigures 4 to 6 It is only presented in the form of a schematic diagram, and the internal working components are appropriately omitted.

[0038] When the rotary joint 3 is blindly inserted into the liquid joint 200, the blind insertion is completed by the radial slider 2 sliding in the sliding space SS and the ball head 31 rotating relative to the ball socket BS, so that a first central axis CA1 of the rotary joint 3 is aligned with a second central axis CA2 of the liquid joint 200.

[0039] Compared with the blind plug joint having a radial floating amount of about one millimeter (taking the UQDB series as an example), the blind plug liquid joint assembly 100 of this embodiment has a radial floating amount of about 6 millimeters (taking Figure 5 as an example, having a radial floating amount of 3 millimeters up and down), and has an angular floating amount of about 10 degrees (taking Figure 5 as an example, having an angular floating amount of 5 degrees up and down) through the rotary joint 3.

[0040] In order to prevent the working liquid (such as coolant) from overflowing, the blind plug liquid joint assembly 100 further includes a first sealing rubber ring 4a, a second sealing rubber ring 4b and a third sealing rubber ring 4c. The first sealing rubber ring 4a is arranged between the radial slider 2 and the plugging and fixing seat 1, adjacent to the first liquid channel LC1. The second sealing rubber ring 4b is arranged between the first housing 21 and the second housing 22. The third sealing rubber ring 4c is sleeved on the fixing portion 112 adjacent to the accommodating portion 111.

[0041] Please refer to Figures 7 to 10 , Figure 7 which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the blind plug liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention before being fixed to the liquid-cooled server; Figure 8 which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the blind plug liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention before being plugged into the liquid joint; Figure 9 which is a three-dimensional exploded view of the blind plug liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention from another perspective before being plugged into the liquid joint; and Figure 10 which is a three-dimensional schematic view of the blind plug liquid joint assembly provided by the embodiment of the present invention after being plugged into the liquid joint. Please refer to Figures 1 to 6 together.

[0042] As Figures 7 to 10 shown, in the actual application scenario, the blind plug liquid joint assembly 100 can be locked to the corresponding position of the liquid-cooled server 300 through the fixing portion 112. In order to correspond to the inflow and outflow of the coolant, two blind plug liquid joint assemblies need to be installed on the liquid-cooled server 300 to separately handle the requirements of liquid inlet and outlet.

[0043] When the liquid-cooled server 300 needs to be installed in a cabinet 400, it only needs to align the rotary joint 3 with the liquid joint 200 provided on a manifold 401 and perform blind plugging. Due to the inevitable cumulative tolerances in the manufacturing or assembly process, there may be a radial deviation or an angular deviation between the rotary joint 3 and the liquid joint 200, that is, the first central axis CA1 and the second central axis CA2 are not completely aligned before blind plugging. However, during the blind plugging process, even if there are radial deviations or angular deviations, the blind plug type liquid joint assembly 100 can still automatically adjust and complete the alignment to ensure the smooth completion of blind plugging.

[0044] In summary, for the blind plug type liquid joint assembly 100 provided by the present invention, the radial sliding member 2 slides in the sliding space SS to correspond to the radial deviation, and the spherical head 31 rotates relative to the spherical socket BS to correspond to the angular deviation, so that the first central axis CA1 of the rotary joint 3 is aligned with the second central axis CA2 of the liquid joint 200 to complete blind plugging, thereby solving the problems of consuming a large amount of time during plugging and plugging failure.

[0045] Through the detailed description of the above preferred specific embodiments, it is hoped that the features and spirit of the present invention can be more clearly described, rather than limiting the scope of the present invention by the above-disclosed preferred specific embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose is to hope to cover various changes and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

Claims

1. A blind plug type liquid joint assembly, characterized in that, The blind plug type liquid joint assembly includes: A plugging and fixing seat, which has a sliding space and a first liquid channel communicating with the sliding space; A radially sliding member, which has a ball socket communicating with the first liquid channel, and is radially slidably arranged in the sliding space so that a sliding gap is formed between the radially sliding member and the sliding space, and the first liquid channel is kept isolated from the sliding gap; and A rotary joint, including: A ball head, which has a second liquid channel communicating with the first liquid channel, and is rotatably arranged in the ball socket, and the second liquid channel is kept isolated from the sliding gap by the radially sliding member; and A blind plug part, which extends from the ball head away from the first liquid channel and is used for blindly plugging into a liquid joint so that the second liquid channel communicates with a third liquid channel located in the liquid joint; Wherein, when the rotary joint is blindly plugged into the liquid joint, the radially sliding member slides in the sliding space, and the ball head rotates relative to the ball socket so that a first central axis of the rotary joint is aligned with a second central axis of the liquid joint to complete the blind plugging.

2. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The plugging and fixing seat includes: A seat body, which has the first liquid channel; and A cover body, which is locked to the seat body and jointly encloses the sliding space with the seat body.

3. The blind plug type liquid joint assembly according to claim 2, wherein, The seat body includes: A containing part, which jointly encloses the sliding space with the cover body; and A fixing part, which extends from the containing part away from the cover body and has the first liquid channel.

4. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 2, wherein, The cover body is provided with a limiting groove communicating with the sliding space, and the limiting groove is used to limit the rotation angle of the blind plug part.

5. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein The blind plug type liquid joint assembly further includes: A first sealing rubber ring, which is arranged between the radially sliding member and the plugging and fixing seat and is adjacent to the first liquid channel.

6. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The radially sliding member includes: A first housing; and A second housing, which jointly encloses the ball socket with the first housing after being assembled to the first housing.

7. The blind-mateable liquid fitting assembly according to claim 6, wherein, The blind plug type liquid joint assembly further includes: A second sealing rubber ring, which is arranged between the first housing and the second housing.

8. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The rotary joint and the liquid joint are respectively a rotary male joint and a liquid female joint.

9. The blind-mating liquid joint assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The rotary joint and the liquid joint are respectively a rotary female joint and a liquid male joint.

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