Cooling pump module and auxiliary connection device therefor

Abstract

A cooling pump module and an auxiliary connection device thereof are provided. The auxiliary connection device includes a tray, a base, and a guide rod. The tray has a first bearing fixed thereto. The base is slidably disposed on the tray. The base has a second bearing fixed thereto. The guide rod is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing. When the base slides relative to the tray, the guide rod moves toward the first bearing. When the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can rotate to engage the first bearing. When the guide rod rotates in the first bearing, the guide rod pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a cooling pump module and its auxiliary connection device, which can be used to assist in the docking between liquid cooling pipelines. Background Technology

[0002] For cooling equipment currently used in server racks, there is a need to perform maintenance or replace components while the server rack is running, which relates to the so-called hot-swap technology. However, to prevent coolant leakage during hot-swapping, current designs incorporate a certain degree of obstruction at the joints between cooling devices. Overcoming this obstruction and reconnecting the joints requires applying significant external force.

[0003] Therefore, designing an improved solution to make the connection between liquid cooling pipelines smoother has become the direction that practitioners in this field are committed to developing. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, an auxiliary connecting device is provided. The auxiliary connecting device includes a tray, a base, and a guide rod. The tray has a first bearing fixed thereon. The base is slidably disposed on the tray. The base has a second bearing fixed thereon. The guide rod is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing. When the base slides relative to the tray, the guide rod moves toward the first bearing. When the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can rotate to engage with the first bearing. When the guide rod rotates in the first bearing, the guide rod pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base.

[0005] According to another aspect of the present invention, a cooling pump module is provided for providing a coolant to a second liquid-cooled line of an electronic device via a first liquid-cooled line. The cooling pump module includes a cooling pump and an auxiliary connection device. The cooling pump has a first liquid-cooled line. The auxiliary connection device is used to connect the first liquid-cooled line and the second liquid-cooled line to each other. The auxiliary connection device includes a tray, a base, and a guide rod. The tray has a first bearing. The first bearing is disposed on the side of the tray facing the cooling pump. The base is slidably disposed on the tray. One side of the base supports the cooling pump. The other side of the base has a second bearing disposed thereon. The guide rod is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing, and engages with the first bearing.

[0006] According to another aspect of the invention, a cooling pump module is provided for providing a coolant input to an electronic device. The cooling pump module includes a cooling pump and an auxiliary connection device. The auxiliary connection device is used to interconnect the cooling pump with the liquid cooling piping of the electronic device. A tray has a first bearing. The first bearing is disposed on the side of the tray facing the cooling pump. A base is slidably disposed on the tray. One side of the base supports the cooling pump. The other side of the base has a second bearing fixed thereon. A space is formed between the base and the tray. A guide rod is disposed in the space between the tray and the base. The guide rod is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing, and can rotate to engage with the first bearing.

[0007] The auxiliary connection device proposed in this invention features a design that allows the base and tray to slide relative to each other, a guide rod of a bearing mounted on the base to move and rotate to engage with a bearing on the tray, and a guide rod that, when rotating within the bearing on the tray, can push against a second bearing to apply force to the base. This auxiliary connection device allows for easy connection between a liquid cooling pipe mounted on the base and another liquid cooling pipe mounted on the tray, thus providing a labor-saving effect.

[0008] To provide a better understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention, specific embodiments are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings: Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating the application of an auxiliary connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention to the docking of liquid cooling pipelines is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 A schematic diagram illustrating an auxiliary connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 An exploded view of an auxiliary connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0012] Figure 4A , 4B Figure 4C shows a bottom view of the actuation phase of an auxiliary connection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 5 A bottom view of some components of an auxiliary connecting device according to another embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0014] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0015] 10: Cooling pump module 100: Auxiliary connection device

[0016] 110: Pallet; 110R: Slide

[0017] 110R1: Part 1 110R2: Part 2

[0018] 111: First bearing; 120: Base

[0019] 120B: Base; 120P: Stand

[0020] 120L: Long side 120S: Short side

[0021] 121, 221: Second bearing; 122: Support rail

[0022] 130: Guide rod 130E: End

[0023] 131: Push structure 140: Handle

[0024] D: Distance LC1: First device

[0025] LC2: Second device OP: Opening

[0026] P1: First liquid cooling line P2: Second liquid cooling line

[0027] W: Entrance size Detailed Implementation

[0028] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition to these detailed descriptions, the present invention can be widely implemented in other embodiments, and any easy substitutions, modifications, or equivalent changes to the described embodiments are included within the scope of the present invention and are subject to the patent protection scope of the present invention. In the description of the specification, many specific details are provided to give the reader a more complete understanding of the present invention; however, the present invention may still be implemented even if some or all of these specific details are omitted. Furthermore, well-known common steps or elements are not described in the details to avoid unnecessary limitation of the present invention. The same or similar elements in the drawings will be represented by the same or similar symbols.

[0029] Please refer to Figure 1 , 2 and 3, Figure 1 This diagram illustrates an embodiment of the present invention where an auxiliary connection device 100 is applied to the connection between a first liquid cooling line P1 of a first device LC1 and a second liquid cooling line P2 of a second device LC2. Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the auxiliary connection device 100 is shown. Figure 3 An exploded view of the auxiliary connection device 100 is shown.

[0030] The first device, LC1, is, for example, a cooling pump. The second device, LC2, is, for example, an electronic device such as a server. Figure 1Only a portion of the server platform is shown for illustrative purposes to simplify the illustration. The first device LC1 and the auxiliary connection device 100 can constitute a cooling pump module 10, meaning that in one embodiment of the invention, the cooling pump module 10 may include the first device LC1 and the auxiliary connection device 100. The cooling pump module 10 can be used to provide coolant to the second liquid cooling line P2 of the second device LC2 through the first liquid cooling line P1 of the first device LC1. Specifically, the first liquid cooling line P1 and the liquid cooling line P2 may each have a quick connector to allow for hot-swapping while the second device LC2 (e.g., the server platform) is in operation when the first device LC1 (e.g., the cooling pump) needs maintenance and / or component replacement. To prevent coolant leakage during hot-swapping, a spring-loaded design is typically incorporated into the quick connector, resulting in some resistance when reconnecting the two connectors. The auxiliary connection device 100 can be used to assist in the quick connection between the first liquid cooling pipe P1 of the first device LC1 and the second liquid cooling pipe P2 of the second device LC2. That is, the auxiliary connection device 100 can be used to connect the first liquid cooling pipe P1 and the second liquid cooling pipe P2 to each other, so as to effectively overcome the resistance when the joint is connected, thereby providing a labor-saving effect.

[0031] The auxiliary connection device 100 may include a tray 110, a base 120, a guide rod 130, and a handle 140. Specifically, the base 120 may include a base 120B and a vertical plate 120P, which may be substantially perpendicular. A first device LC1 may be mounted on the base 120B of the base 120, and its first liquid cooling line P1 may pass through a corresponding through hole fixed to the vertical plate 120P. A second device LC2 may be mounted on one side of the tray 110 or configured adjacent to the tray 110. The first liquid cooling line P1 of the first device LC1 and the second liquid cooling line P2 of the second device LC2 are aligned in the YZ plane, thereby allowing docking along the X-axis. The tray 110 may have a first bearing 111 fixed thereon, the first bearing 111 may have internal threads, and the first bearing 111 may be disposed on the side of the tray 110 facing the first device LC1. The base 120 is slidably disposed on the tray 110, and one side of the base 120 may support the first device LC1. In detail, the inlet size W of tray 110 (refer to...) Figure 3 Corresponding to base 120B, base 120 can be placed directly on tray 110 from above. Tray 110 may also have two sliding grooves 110R, which are located a distance after the inlet of tray 110 and correspond to both sides of base 120B, so that base 120B can slide along the extension direction of sliding groove 110R. Sliding groove 110R can be further divided into a first part 110R1 and a second part 110R2. Figure 3As shown, the first part 110R1 is a plate-like structure extending along the XY plane, while the second part 110R2 is a plate-like structure extending along the XZ plane. That is, the first part 110R1 and the second part 110R2 can be substantially perpendicular to each other. The second part 110R2 can be used to stop the base 120 from continuing to move towards the second liquid cooling pipe P2 in the X-axis direction. When the base 120 finally moves along the X-axis until... Figure 2 In the shown state, the second portion 110R2 of the slide rail 110R abuts against the base 120 and provides a stop. In detail, the second portion 110R2 of the slide rail 110R can stop the base 120 by abutting against the base 120B of the base 120 and the support rail 122 fixed to the base 120.

[0032] The support rail 122, fixed to the base 120, is mainly used to support the base 120B, preventing the weight of the first device LC1 from deforming the base 120B. Specifically, the support rail 122 can be fixed to the base 120B of the base 120. In this embodiment, the number of support rails 122 is set to four, but this is not intended to limit the invention. The support rail 122 can abut against the tray 110, serving as a contact surface when the base 120 slides on the tray 110. The lengths of the multiple support rails 122 may not be the same. In this embodiment, two of the support rails 122 located in the middle of the base 120 are of the same length, and the other two support rails 122 located on the outer side of the base 120 are of the same length. The length of the support rail 122 located in the middle of the base 120 is shorter than that of the support rail 122 located on the outer side of the base 120, but this is not intended to limit the invention.

[0033] The base 120 has a second bearing 121 fixed thereon. In this embodiment, the number of second bearings 121 is set to two, but this is not intended to limit the invention. The second bearing 121 is disposed on and fixed to the other side of the base 120 relative to the side of the base 120 that supports the first device LC1. Specifically, the second bearing 121 can be fixed to the base 120B of the base 120 and is located on the side of the base 120B facing the tray 110. A space can be formed between the base 120 and the tray 110, in which the guide rod 130 can be disposed. The guide rod 130 is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing 121, which supports the rotating guide rod 130 and allows it to rotate smoothly. The second bearing 121 may be unthreaded. A handle 140 is fixed to one end of the guide rod 130. The handle 140 provides a grip for the user, and rotating the handle 140 causes the guide rod 130 to rotate synchronously. In this embodiment, both the first bearing 111 and the second bearing 121 are flange bearings. Flange bearings provide a locking position so that the first bearing 111 can be locked onto the tray 110, and the second bearing 121 can be locked onto the base 120.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 4A , 4B and 4C, Figure 4A A bottom view of the auxiliary connection device 100 during its first actuation phase is shown. Figure 4B A bottom view of the second actuation stage of the auxiliary connection device 100 is shown. Figure 4C A bottom view of the second actuation stage of the auxiliary connection device 100 is shown.

[0035] exist Figure 4A During the first actuation phase of the auxiliary connection device 100 shown, the first liquid cooling pipe P1 of the first device LC1 and the second liquid cooling pipe P2 of the second device LC2 are not yet connected. Correspondingly, the end 130E of the guide rod 130 is exposed, and the end 130E is separated from the first bearing 111 on the tray 110 by a distance D. This distance D is approximately the same as the distance between the first liquid cooling pipe P1 of the first device LC1 and the second liquid cooling pipe P2 of the second device LC2. In addition, the guide rod 130 can be positioned between two support rails 122 located in the middle of the base 120. These two support rails 122 form an accommodating height on the Z-axis, which can prevent the guide rod 130 from interfering with the tray 110 during subsequent actuation. The base 120 can slide relative to the tray 110. For example, the user can directly apply a pushing force to the short side 120S of the base 120 along the X-axis, or apply a pushing force to the handle 140 along the X-axis to indirectly drive the base 120, so that the base 120 slides relative to the tray 110.

[0036] When the base 120 slides relative to the tray 110, the guide rod 130 can move toward the first bearing 111 on the tray 110 to shorten the distance D between the end 130E and the first bearing 111. Specifically, because the guide rod 130 is connected to the second bearing 121 on the base 120, the second bearing 121 can drive the guide rod 130 to approach the first bearing 111 along the X-axis. Figure 4B During the second actuation phase of the auxiliary connection device 100 shown, the guide rod 130 gradually moves to approach the first bearing 111 until the two come into contact; correspondingly, at this time the first liquid cooling pipe P1 of the first device LC1 and the second liquid cooling pipe P2 of the second device LC2 also come into contact, but the docking is still not completed.

[0037] When the guide rod 130 moves close to the first bearing 111 on the tray 110, the guide rod 130 can rotate to engage with the first bearing 111. Specifically, the guide rod 130 can be driven by rotating the handle 140 about the X-axis (e.g., clockwise), that is, when the guide rod 130 moves along the X-axis close to the first bearing 111, the handle 140 can drive the guide rod 130 to rotatably engage with the first bearing 111. Figure 4CDuring the third actuation phase of the auxiliary connecting device 100 shown, the guide rod 130 engages and passes through the first bearing 111, at which time the guide rod 130 can continue to rotate within the first bearing 111. When the guide rod 130 rotates within the first bearing 111, it can push against the second bearing 121 to apply force to the base 120. As mentioned above, the hole of the first bearing 111 can be designed to have internal threads, while the shaft surface of the guide rod 130 corresponding to the end 130E of the first bearing 111 can be designed to have external threads. That is, when the guide rod 130 moves close to the first bearing 111, it can rotate to engage the external threads of the guide rod 130 with the internal threads of the first bearing 111. The engagement between the two threads can achieve a more labor-saving effect.

[0038] In detail, the guide rod 130 may have a push structure 131 fixed thereto. For example, the push structure 131 may be a nut. In this embodiment, the number of nuts serving as the push structure 131 is set to four, with two nuts corresponding to the left second bearing 121 and the other two nuts corresponding to the right second bearing 121, but this is not intended to limit the invention. That is, one or more nuts may be configured to pass through the guide rod 130. When the guide rod 130 rotates in the first bearing 111 on the tray 110, the push structure 131 may push against the second bearing 121 to apply force to the base 120. In this embodiment, as Figure 4C As shown, the two pushing structures 131 of the second bearing 121 adjacent to the left, along with the engagement of the guide rod 130 with the first bearing 111, push the second bearing 121 to the right along the X-axis. Since the second bearing 121 is fixed to the base 120, the force applied by the pushing structures 131 is transmitted to the base 120, causing the base 120 to move further relative to the tray 110. Correspondingly, at this time, the first liquid cooling pipe P1 of the first device LC1 mounted on the base 120 moves further due to the push from the base 120, and can have sufficient force to overcome the resistance present during the aforementioned docking, thereby completing the docking with the second liquid cooling pipe P2 of the second device LC2 mounted on the tray 110.

[0039] Conversely, when the handle 140 is rotated in the opposite direction (e.g., counterclockwise) around the X-axis to drive the guide rod 130, the guide rod 130 can rotate within the first bearing 111 and gradually disengage from the first bearing 111. For example, when the bore of the first bearing 111 is designed to have internal threads and the shaft surface of the end 130E of the guide rod 130 is designed to have external threads, as the handle 140 is rotated counterclockwise, the surface threads of the guide rod 130 can gradually rotate out of the threaded bore of the first bearing 111, until the guide rod 130 is separated from the first bearing 111 as shown in the image. Figure 4A The distance D shown indicates the state in which the guide rod 130 is disengaged from the first bearing 111. Figure 4C , Figure 4B and Figure 4A The sequence is reversed. Furthermore, if the nut selected for the push structure 131 has threads, the guide rod must have corresponding threads for engagement. This design allows for more flexible installation and disassembly of the nut and guide rod, facilitating maintenance. However, the nut selected for the push structure 131 may also be unthreaded; in this case, the nut and guide rod must be welded together to prevent relative movement.

[0040] In addition, such as Figure 4A , 4B As shown in 4C, the base 120 may have a long side 120L and a short side 120S. The guide rod 130 may be designed to be located at the center of the short side 120S of the base 120. This allows the force exerted by the handle 140 to rotate the guide rod 130 and engage with the first bearing 111 to be more evenly distributed, avoiding the situation where the weight of the cooling pump makes it impossible to push the base 120, and further achieving the effect of saving effort. The present invention utilizes the space between the tray 110 and the base 120 to design a force-saving structure. The space above the tray 110 can be completely reserved for the cooling pump, which not only effectively saves space but also allows for greater design flexibility for the cooling pump and its surrounding piping. The base 120B may also be provided with an opening OP to expose the guide rod 130 and the first bearing 111, allowing observation of their engagement.

[0041] Please refer to Figure 5 The figure shows a bottom view of the combination of the base 120, guide rod 130 and handle 140 of the auxiliary connecting device 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] exist Figure 5 In another embodiment shown, the auxiliary connecting device 100 may employ the general implementation details described above, which will not be repeated here. The changes will be explained here. In this embodiment, the aforementioned second bearing 121 is replaced with a second bearing 221, and the guide rod 130 is disposed within the second bearing 221. Specifically, the second bearing 221 is a nut, which can be welded to the base 120 to secure it to the side of the base 120 facing the tray 110. Both the second bearing 221 and the pushing structure 131 are nuts, but the pushing structure 131 is a nut fixed to the guide rod 130, while the second bearing 221 is a nut that can move relative to the guide rod 130, so that the guide rod 130 is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing 221.

[0043] As can be seen from the present invention, the auxiliary connection device of the above embodiments has the characteristics of being able to slide relative to the base and the tray, having a guide rod of the bearing disposed on the base that can move and rotate to engage with the bearing on the tray, and having the guide rod, when rotating in the bearing on the tray, able to push against the second bearing to apply force to the base. Therefore, the auxiliary connection device of the present invention can, through these designs, easily connect a liquid cooling pipe mounted on the base to another liquid cooling pipe mounted on the tray, thereby providing a labor-saving effect.

[0044] In summary, although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to embodiments, it is not intended to limit the invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope of patent protection.

Claims

1. An auxiliary connecting device, characterized in that, include: A tray having a first bearing fixed thereon; A base, slidably disposed on the tray, the base having a second bearing fixed thereon; and A guide rod is rotatably mounted and passes through the second bearing; When the base slides relative to the tray, the guide rod moves toward the first bearing; when the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can rotate to engage with the first bearing; and when the guide rod rotates in the first bearing, the guide rod pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base.

2. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: A handle is fixed to one end of the guide rod, wherein when the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can be driven by the handle to rotatably engage with the first bearing.

3. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The guide rod has a push structure fixed thereto, which pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base when the guide rod rotates in the first bearing.

4. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The actuation mechanism is a nut, and one or more of the nuts are inserted into the guide rod.

5. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first bearing has an internal thread, and the guide rod has an external thread at one end corresponding to the first bearing. When the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, it can rotate so that the external thread of the guide rod engages with the internal thread of the first bearing.

6. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The first bearing is a flange-type bearing, which is locked onto the tray.

7. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second bearing is a flange-type bearing, which is locked onto the base.

8. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The second bearing is a nut, which is welded to the base.

9. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base has a long side and a short side, and the guide rod is located at the center of the short side.

10. The auxiliary connecting device as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The base has a support rail fixed thereto, which abuts against the tray.

11. A cooling pump module for supplying coolant to a second liquid-cooled line of an electronic device via a first liquid-cooled line, characterized in that, include: A cooling pump having the first liquid cooling line; as well as An auxiliary connection device for interconnecting the first liquid cooling line and the second liquid cooling line, comprising: A tray having a first bearing disposed on one side of the tray opposite the cooling pump; a base slidably disposed on the tray, one side of the base supporting the cooling pump, and the other side of the base having a second bearing disposed thereon; and a guide rod rotatably disposed and passing through the second bearing, and rotatably engaging with the first bearing.

12. The cooling pump module as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The auxiliary connection device further includes: A handle is fixed to one end of the guide rod, wherein when the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can be driven by the handle to rotatably engage with the first bearing.

13. The cooling pump module as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The guide rod has a push structure fixed thereto, which pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base when the guide rod rotates in the first bearing.

14. The cooling pump module as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The first bearing has an internal thread, and the guide rod has an external thread at one end corresponding to the first bearing. When the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, it can rotate so that the external thread of the guide rod engages with the internal thread of the first bearing.

15. The cooling pump module as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The base has a support rail fixed thereto, which abuts against the tray.

16. A cooling pump module for providing a coolant input to an electronic device, characterized in that, include: A cooling pump; as well as An auxiliary connection device for interconnecting the cooling pump with the liquid cooling piping of the electronic device, comprising: A tray having a first bearing disposed on one side of the tray opposite the cooling pump; A base, slidably mounted on the tray, one side of which supports the cooling pump, and the other side of which has a second bearing fixed thereon, forming a space between the base and the tray; and A guide rod is disposed in the space between the tray and the base, and is rotatably disposed and passes through the second bearing, and can rotate to engage with the first bearing.

17. The cooling pump module as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that, The auxiliary connection device also includes: A handle is fixed to one end of the guide rod, wherein when the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, the guide rod can be driven by the handle to rotatably engage with the first bearing.

18. The cooling pump module as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that, The guide rod has a push structure fixed thereto, which pushes against the second bearing to apply force to the base when the guide rod rotates in the first bearing.

19. The cooling pump module as described in claim 16, characterized in that, The first bearing has an internal thread, and the guide rod has an external thread at one end corresponding to the first bearing. When the guide rod moves close to the first bearing, it can rotate so that the external thread of the guide rod engages with the internal thread of the first bearing.

20. The cooling pump module as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that, The base has a support rail fixed thereto, which abuts against the tray.

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