Pressure sensing unit, valve and liquid cooling device

By designing a self-powered pressure sensing unit in the liquid cooling device, using the cooling liquid to generate electricity and store power supply, the problem of inconvenient pressure testing in the liquid cooling device is solved, and convenient pressure testing and maintenance reduction is achieved.

CN222964782UActive Publication Date: 2025-06-10广东省工业边缘智能创新中心有限公司
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202421756300.8
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Utility models(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-07-23
Publication Date
2025-06-10
Estimated Expiration
2034-07-23

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Pressure testing in existing liquid-cooled devices is not convenient enough, mainly because the pressure sensor needs to be replaced regularly, resulting in complex operation and increased maintenance difficulty.

Method used

A self-powered pressure sensing unit is designed, including power generation components, energy storage components, pressure sensing components and signal processing components. The power generation component generates electrical energy through the applied force flowing through the coolant, and the energy storage component stores and supplies power to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component to perform pressure testing under self-powered conditions.

Benefits of technology

It realizes continuous power supply without the need for regular battery replacement inside the liquid cooling device, reducing maintenance work and improving the convenience of stress testing.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The embodiment of the utility model relates to the technical field of liquid cooling devices, and discloses a pressure sensing unit, a valve and a liquid cooling device, and the pressure sensing unit is used for being fixed on the inner wall of a liquid cooling pipeline of the liquid cooling device. The power generation component is used for generating electric energy under the action of force applied by circulation of the cooling liquid; the energy storage component is electrically connected with the power generation component and used for storing electric energy generated by the power generation component. The energy storage component is used for providing electric energy for the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component; the pressure sensing part is used for measuring the liquid pressure of the cooling liquid and generating a pressure analog signal; the pressure sensing part is electrically connected with the signal processing part and is used for sending a pressure analog signal to the signal processing part; and the signal processing part is used for being in communication connection with a controller of the liquid cooling device, converting the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal and sending the pressure digital signal to the controller. In this way, the convenience of pressure testing in the liquid cooling device is improved.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of liquid cooling devices, and particularly to a pressure sensing unit, a valve, and a liquid cooling device. Background Art

[0002] In current liquid cooling devices, pressure sensors are usually used to monitor the pressure of the coolant, and accordingly control the opening and closing of the valve to regulate the flow of the coolant in the liquid cooling device. Although this method can effectively manage the flow rate of the coolant, there are some inconveniences in the design of existing pressure sensors.

[0003] Specifically, these pressure sensors are usually equipped with external batteries as power sources, and the regular replacement of the batteries becomes an inevitable task, which makes the pressure test in the liquid cooling device not convenient enough.

[0004] Therefore, how to improve the convenience of pressure test in liquid cooling devices has become an urgent problem to be solved in the current technology. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] In view of the above problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a pressure sensing unit, a valve, and a liquid cooling device, which are used to solve the technical problem that the pressure test in existing liquid cooling devices is not convenient enough.

[0006] According to one aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a pressure sensing unit is provided. The pressure sensing unit is used to be fixed on the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipeline of the liquid cooling device; the pressure sensing unit includes a power generation component, an energy storage component, a pressure sensing component, and a signal processing component; the power generation component, the energy storage component, the pressure sensing component, and the signal processing component are all wrapped inside a waterproof material; the power generation component is used to generate electric energy under the action of the force exerted by the flow of the coolant in the liquid cooling pipeline; the energy storage component is electrically connected to the power generation component and is used to store the electric energy generated by the power generation component; the energy storage component is electrically connected to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component and is used to provide electric energy to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component; the pressure sensing component is used to measure the liquid pressure of the coolant and generate a pressure analog signal based on the measured liquid pressure; the pressure sensing component is electrically connected to the signal processing component and is used to send the pressure analog signal to the signal processing component; the signal processing component is used to communicate with the controller of the liquid cooling device, convert the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal, and send the pressure digital signal to the controller, so that the controller controls the flow of the coolant based on the liquid pressure characterized by the pressure digital signal.

[0007] In an optional manner, the liquid cooling device includes a valve and a first pipeline, the valve includes a second pipeline for the coolant to flow through, the liquid cooling pipeline includes the first pipeline and the second pipeline of the liquid cooling device, and the pressure sensing unit is fixed on the inner wall of the second pipeline.

[0008] In an alternative embodiment, the power generation component includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a first friction layer, and a second friction layer; the first friction layer and the second friction layer have different charge affinities; the first electrode and the second electrode are arranged at intervals and are insulated and fixed to the inner wall of the second pipe; the first surface of the first friction layer is insulated and fixed to the first electrode and the second electrode; the second friction layer is further configured to slide from a first region on the second surface of the first friction layer to a second region on the second surface of the first friction layer and from the second region to the first region under the action of the force exerted by the flowing coolant, and the first region and the second region at least partially do not overlap; the first friction layer is further configured to transfer charges with the second friction layer when friction occurs between the first friction layer and the second friction layer; the first electrode is further configured to transfer charges with the second electrode after the charge transfer between the first friction layer and the second friction layer to maintain the charge balance within the power generation component; one end of the energy storage component is electrically connected to the first electrode, and the other end of the energy storage component is electrically connected to the second electrode, and is configured to store the charges transferred between the first electrode and the second electrode to store electrical energy when charge transfer occurs between the first electrode and the second electrode.

[0009] In an alternative embodiment, the first region and the second region do not overlap completely.

[0010] In an alternative embodiment, the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the second pipe horizontally arranged in the liquid cooling pipe; the first electrode and the second electrode are insulated and fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe, the energy storage component is fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe, and the pressure sensing component is fixed to the bottom of the inner wall of the second pipe.

[0011] In an alternative embodiment, the second pipe is a hollow cylinder, the first electrode and the second electrode are both arc-shaped electrodes, and the inner radius of the hollow cylinder, the radius of the first electrode, and the radius of the second electrode are of the same length.

[0012] In an alternative embodiment, the outer surfaces of the power generation component and the pressure sensing component have flexible waterproof film coatings.

[0013] In an alternative embodiment, a display component is fixed to the outside of the liquid cooling device; the signal processing component is communicatively connected to the display component and is configured to send the pressure digital signal to the display component so that the display component displays the liquid pressure based on the pressure digital signal.

[0014] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a valve is provided. The valve is configured to be arranged in the liquid cooling device. The valve includes a pipe for flowing coolant and the pressure sensing unit as described in any of the above embodiments, and the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the pipe.

[0015] According to another aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a liquid cooling device is provided. The liquid cooling device includes a liquid cooling pipeline, a controller, and the pressure sensing unit described in any of the above embodiments; the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipeline; the controller is communicatively connected to the signal processing component of the pressure sensing unit, and is configured to receive the pressure digital signal sent by the signal processing component, and control the circulation of the coolant based on the liquid pressure represented by the pressure digital signal.

[0016] In the embodiments of the present application, the liquid pressure inside the liquid cooling device is tested by the pressure sensing component to generate a pressure analog signal. The pressure analog signal is converted into a pressure digital signal by the signal processing component, and the pressure digital signal is sent to the controller of the liquid cooling device to complete the pressure test. Electric energy is generated by the power generation component under the action of the force exerted by the circulation of the coolant in the liquid cooling pipeline. The electric energy generated by the power generation component is stored by the energy storage component, and the electric energy stored in the energy storage component is used to supply power to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component, so that the pressure sensing unit fixed inside the liquid cooling device can complete the pressure test under self-powered conditions without the need to regularly replace the battery to continuously supply power to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component, thereby reducing the maintenance work caused by battery replacement and improving the convenience of pressure testing in the liquid cooling device.

[0017] The above description is only an overview of the technical solution of the present application. In order to be able to understand the technical means of the present application more clearly, it can be implemented according to the content of the specification. And in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the specific embodiments of the present application are specifically described below. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] By reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, various other advantages and benefits will become clear to those of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings are only for the purpose of showing the preferred embodiments and are not considered to be a limitation of the present application. Moreover, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 The structural diagram of the liquid cooling device provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0020] Figure 2 The structural diagram of the pressure sensing unit provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0021] Figure 3a The schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer is located in the first region provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figure 3b The schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer is located in the region between the first region and the second region provided by the embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0023] Figure 3c It shows a schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer provided in the embodiment of the present application is located in the second region;

[0024] Figure 4 It shows a schematic diagram of the first region and the second region on the first friction layer provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0025] The reference numerals in the specific embodiments are as follows:

[0026] 1. Liquid cooling device;

[0027] 10. Valve; 11. Second pipeline; 20. Liquid cooling pipeline; 21. First pipeline; 30. Controller;

[0028] 100. Pressure sensing unit;

[0029] 110. Power generation component; 111. First electrode; 112. Second electrode; 113. First friction layer; 114. Second friction layer;

[0030] 120. Energy storage component; 130. Pressure sensing component; 140. Signal processing component. Specific embodiments

[0031] The embodiments of the technical solutions of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application more clearly, and therefore are only examples and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present application.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which this application belongs; the terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application; the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof in the specification and claims of this application and the above drawings are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion.

[0033] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, technical terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish different objects and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity, specific order or primary-secondary relationship of the indicated technical features. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, "a plurality of" means more than two unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0034] References to "embodiments" in this specification mean that specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiments can be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The phrase appears in various places in the specification and does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0035] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists, both A and B exist, or B exists. In addition, the character " / " in this text generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0036] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "plural" means two or more (including two). Similarly, "multiple groups" means two or more groups (including two groups), and "multiple pieces" means two or more pieces (including two pieces).

[0037] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by technical terms such as "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0038] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, technical terms such as "installation", "connection", "connection", "fixation", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can also be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] The pressure sensors in current liquid cooling devices are usually equipped with external batteries as power sources. Since the pressure sensors are installed in the coolant flow position of the liquid cooling device, replacing the battery is not only complicated in operation, but may also require suspending the operation of the liquid cooling device in some cases, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty and risk of maintenance.

[0040] Based on this, the inventors of the present application found that a self-powered pressure sensing unit can be provided. Specifically, the pressure sensing unit includes a power generation component, an energy storage component, a pressure sensing component, and a signal processing component. The pressure sensing unit generates a pressure analog signal by testing the liquid pressure in the liquid cooling device through the pressure sensing component, converts the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal through the signal processing component, and sends the pressure digital signal to the controller of the liquid cooling device to complete the pressure test. The pressure sensing unit generates electrical energy under the action of the force exerted by the flowing coolant in the liquid cooling pipeline through the power generation component, stores the electrical energy generated by the power generation component through the energy storage component, and powers the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component with the electrical energy stored in the energy storage component, so that the pressure sensing unit fixed inside the liquid cooling device can complete the pressure test under self-powered conditions without the need to regularly replace the battery to continuously power the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component, thereby reducing the maintenance work caused by battery replacement and improving the convenience of pressure testing in the liquid cooling device.

[0041] The present application is used to improve the convenience of pressure testing inside the liquid cooling device, and its applicability can be extended to the pressure monitoring of various other types of liquid circulation devices. Specifically, the application scope of the present application includes but is not limited to closed-loop water cooling systems, open water cooling systems, oil cooling systems, hydraulic oil circuits, chemical liquid circulation systems, fluid conveying pipelines in water treatment plants, and liquid circulation systems in the food processing industry, etc.

[0042] In addition, the liquid cooling device in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to specific applications, but has a wide range of practical application scenarios, such as server cooling systems in data centers, heat dissipation systems of high-performance computing devices, circulating cooling systems of industrial equipment, cooling systems of automobile engines, and thermal management systems in the aerospace field, etc.

[0043] Specifically, Figure 1 shows the structural diagram of the liquid cooling device provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the liquid cooling device 1 includes a valve 10 and a first pipeline 21. The valve 10 includes a second pipeline 11 for circulating the coolant. The first pipeline 21 and the second pipeline 11 of the liquid cooling device 1 together form a liquid cooling pipeline 20.

[0044] Among them, the liquid cooling device 1 is a device that absorbs and dissipates heat through circulating coolant, and is mainly used for temperature control of heat generating devices (such as servers in data centers, high-performance computing devices, automobile engines, etc.) to maintain the optimal working temperature of the heat generating devices.

[0045] The valve 10 can control the circulation of the coolant by opening or closing to adjust the flow rate and flow direction of the coolant, thereby achieving precise control of the temperature of the heat generating device.

[0046] The first pipe 21 is the main pipe of the liquid cooling device 1, which is used to transport the coolant to the hot spot area of the heat generating device to absorb the heat of the hot spot area through the heat transfer between the coolant and the heat generating device.

[0047] The second pipe 11 is a passage inside the valve 10, which is used to allow the coolant to pass through the valve 10 in the open state and enter or leave the first pipe 21. The valve 10 is connected to the first pipe 21 through the second pipe 11 to ensure the smooth flow of the coolant.

[0048] Among them, the liquid cooling device 1 further includes a pressure sensing unit, and the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipe 20 of the liquid cooling device 1. As Figure 1 shown, the liquid cooling pipe 20 includes the first pipe 21 and the second pipe 11 of the liquid cooling device 1.

[0049] In an alternative manner, the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the pipe of the first pipe 21; in another alternative manner, the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the pipe of the second pipe 11 of the valve 10. When the pressure sensing unit needs to be repaired, after the liquid cooling device 1 is shut down, the maintenance personnel can start the repair by unscrewing the valve 10 from the liquid cooling device 1. Therefore, fixing the pressure sensing unit to the inner wall of the pipe of the second pipe 11 can make the repair of the pressure sensing unit more convenient.

[0050] This application takes the pressure sensing unit fixed to the inner wall of the pipe of the second pipe 11 of the valve 10 as an example to illustrate the pressure sensing unit.

[0051] Specifically, please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2The structure diagram of the pressure sensing unit provided by the embodiment of the present application is shown. Among them, the pressure sensing unit 100 is used to be fixed on the inner wall of the second pipeline 11; the pressure sensing unit 100 includes a power generation component 110, an energy storage component 120, a pressure sensing component 130, and a signal processing component 140; the power generation component 110, the energy storage component 120, the pressure sensing component 130, and the signal processing component 140 are all wrapped inside a waterproof material; the power generation component 110 is used to generate electric energy under the action of the force applied by the flow of the coolant in the liquid cooling pipeline 20; the energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the power generation component 110 and is used to store the electric energy generated by the power generation component 110; the energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the pressure sensing component 130 and the signal processing component 140 and is used to provide electric energy to the pressure sensing component 130 and the signal processing component 140; the pressure sensing component 130 is used to measure the liquid pressure of the coolant and generate a pressure analog signal based on the measured liquid pressure; the pressure sensing component 130 is electrically connected to the signal processing component 140 and is used to send the pressure analog signal to the signal processing component 140; the signal processing component 140 is used to communicate with the controller 30 of the liquid cooling device 1, convert the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal, and send the pressure digital signal to the controller 30, so that the controller 30 controls the flow of the coolant based on the liquid pressure represented by the pressure digital signal.

[0052] Among them, the waterproof material can be silicone, nano-coating, epoxy resin, etc. By wrapping the power generation component 110, the energy storage component 120, the pressure sensing component 130, and the signal processing component 140 with the waterproof material, it is possible to prevent the coolant from corroding the power generation component 110, the energy storage component 120, the pressure sensing component 130, and the signal processing component 140, thereby increasing the service life of the pressure sensing unit 100.

[0053] The power generation component 110 can be a liquid-based triboelectric generator as described in Chinese Patent Publication No. "CN104467514B".

[0054] The energy storage component 120 can be a lead-acid battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a lithium-ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a flexible aluminum-air battery, or a component such as a capacitor that can store and discharge electricity. Further, if a cylindrical energy storage component 120 (such as a flexible aluminum-air battery) is selected, the degree of fit between the outer surface of the energy storage component 120 and the arc surface of the inner wall of the second pipeline 11 can be relatively high, thereby increasing the stability of the energy storage component 120 fixed on the inner wall of the second pipeline 11.

[0055] The pressure sensing component 130 can be a piezoresistive effect sensor, a capacitive flexible pressure sensor, or a piezoelectric pressure sensor. Among them, under the action of an external force, the composite material of the piezoresistive effect sensor deforms, changing the distribution and contact state of the internal conductive fillers, thereby causing a regular change in the resistance of the composite material to achieve the perception of the external force; the capacitive flexible pressure sensor is a sensor device that uses the principle of parallel plate capacitance. The working principle of the capacitive flexible pressure sensor is that when an external pressure is applied to the parallel plates, the distance between the capacitor plates changes, causing the output capacitance to change to achieve the perception of the external force; the piezoelectric pressure sensor is mainly composed of a piezoelectric sensitive material. When the piezoelectric sensitive material deforms under the action of an external force, positive and negative charges in the piezoelectric sensitive material will be separated, thereby forming positive and negative charges with opposite directions on the two opposite surfaces of the piezoelectric sensitive material, resulting in the formation of an internal potential difference, and the external force is perceived by detecting the internal potential difference.

[0056] In an alternative embodiment, the outer surfaces of the power generation component 110 and the pressure sensing component 130 are provided with a flexible waterproof film coating to wrap the power generation component 110 and the pressure sensing component 130 through the flexible waterproof film coating, so that the power generation component 110 and the pressure sensing component 130 can better receive the force applied by the coolant while achieving waterproofing.

[0057] In an alternative embodiment, the signal processing component 140 includes an analog-to-digital converter. The analog-to-digital converter is used to convert a continuous signal in analog form into a discrete signal in digital form. The energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the analog-to-digital converter and is used to supply electrical energy to the analog-to-digital converter; the pressure sensing component 130 is electrically connected to the analog-to-digital converter and is used to send a pressure analog signal to the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is used to establish a wired communication connection with the controller 30 of the liquid cooling device 1, and is used to convert the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal and send the pressure digital signal to the controller 30. For example, the electrical communication connection between the analog-to-digital converter and the controller 30 is achieved by arranging waterproof wiring on the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipe 20.

[0058] In another alternative manner, the signal processing component 140 includes an analog-to-digital converter and a wireless communication module. Among them, the wireless communication module can be a communication module based on Bluetooth communication technology, or a communication module based on other wireless communication technologies, etc. The energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the analog-to-digital converter and the wireless communication module, and is used to supply electrical energy to the analog-to-digital converter and the wireless communication module; the pressure sensing component 130 is electrically connected to the analog-to-digital converter, and is used to send a pressure analog signal to the analog-to-digital converter; the analog-to-digital converter is electrically connected to the wireless communication module, and is used to convert the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal and send the pressure digital signal to the wireless communication module; the wireless communication module is used to establish a wireless communication connection with the controller 30 of the liquid cooling device 1, and is used to send the pressure digital signal to the controller 30. By establishing a wireless communication connection between the wireless communication module and the controller 30 of the liquid cooling device 1, the difficulty of establishing a communication path between the signal processing component 140 and the controller 30 in the liquid cooling device 1 can be reduced.

[0059] In an alternative manner, the pressure sensing unit 100 is fixed to the inner wall of the second pipe 11 horizontally arranged in the liquid cooling pipe 20. The power generation component 110 is insulated and fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe 11, so that the power generation component 110 can more sensitively receive the force exerted by the flowing coolant to improve the power generation effect; the pressure sensing component 130 is fixed to the bottom of the inner wall of the second pipe 11, so that the pressure sensing component 130 can more stably receive the force exerted by the flowing coolant to improve the test accuracy of the coolant pressure. Further, the energy storage component 120 can also be fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe 11 to arrange the energy storage component 120 near the power generation component 110, thereby reducing the wiring length between the energy storage component 120 and the power generation component 110 and reducing the loss of the electrical energy generated by the power generation component 110.

[0060] In an alternative manner, the second pipe 11 is a hollow cylinder, and both the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 are arc-shaped electrodes. The inner radius of the hollow cylinder, the radius of the first electrode 111, and the radius of the second electrode 112 are the same in length, so that the bending arcs of the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 are consistent with the bending arc of the inner wall of the second pipe 11, thereby improving the stability of fixing the power generation component 110 on the second pipe 11. Further, the arcs of the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 form a complete circumference, and the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 are parallelly attached to the inner wall of the second pipe 11 to further improve the stability of fixing the power generation component 110 on the second pipe 11.

[0061] In an alternative embodiment, the liquid cooling device 1 further includes a controller 30 and a drive motor. The controller 30 is electrically connected to the drive motor and is configured to control the operation of the drive motor according to the pressure digital signal after receiving it. The drive motor is physically connected to the valve 10 and is used to drive the valve 10 to move, so as to control the opening and closing degree of the valve 10, thereby realizing the control of the flow rate and / or velocity of the coolant.

[0062] Among them, the controller 30 can be a single-chip microcomputer, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processing unit (CPU), etc. After receiving the pressure digital signal, the controller 30 generates a control instruction according to the pressure digital signal and sends the control instruction to the drive motor to control the operation of the drive motor.

[0063] In an alternative embodiment, the liquid cooling device 1 further includes a display component fixed to the outside of the liquid cooling device 1. The signal processing component 140 is communicatively connected to the display component and is used to send the pressure digital signal to the display component, so that the display component displays the liquid pressure based on the pressure digital signal.

[0064] Among them, the display component includes a display component with a display function, such as a liquid crystal display screen and a digital tube.

[0065] When the display component includes a display component, the display component and the signal processing component 140 are connected by a wired communication connection based on a waterproof wire. The display component displays based on the pressure digital signal sent by the signal processing component 140. By receiving the pressure digital signal sent by the signal processing component 140 through the display component and displaying the liquid pressure based on the pressure digital signal, the coolant pressure inside the liquid cooling device 1 can be observed. When the display component includes a display component and a wireless communication module, the wireless communication module and the signal processing component 140 are wirelessly connected based on wireless communication technology. The display component displays based on the pressure digital signal sent by the signal processing component 140. By establishing a wireless communication connection between the display component outside the liquid cooling device 1 and the signal processing component 140 inside the liquid cooling device 1, it is possible to avoid opening holes in the liquid cooling device 1 to improve the tightness of the liquid cooling device 1.

[0066] In the embodiment of the present application, the pressure sensing component 130 tests the liquid pressure in the liquid cooling device 1 to generate a pressure analog signal. The signal processing component 140 converts the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal and sends the pressure digital signal to the controller 30 of the liquid cooling device 1 to complete the pressure test. The power generation component 110 generates electric energy under the action of the force exerted by the flowing coolant in the liquid cooling pipeline 20. The energy storage component 120 stores the electric energy generated by the power generation component, and the electric energy stored in the energy storage component 120 powers the pressure sensing component 130 and the signal processing component 140, so that the pressure sensing unit 100 fixed inside the liquid cooling device 1 can complete the pressure test in a self-powered manner without the need to regularly replace the battery to continuously power the pressure sensing component 130 and the signal processing component 140, thereby reducing the maintenance work caused by battery replacement and improving the convenience of pressure testing in the liquid cooling device 1.

[0067] Furthermore, compared with not arranging at least one of the power generation component 110, the energy storage component 120, and the signal processing component 140 on the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipeline 20, in the present application, by arranging all the components (the power generation component 110, the energy storage component 120, the pressure sensing component 130, and the signal processing component 140) included in the pressure sensing unit 100 on the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipeline 20, it is possible to avoid drilling holes in the liquid cooling pipeline 20 to realize the connection between multiple components, thereby improving the tightness of the liquid cooling device 1.

[0068] Figures 3a to 3c shows the structural diagrams of the power generation component and the energy storage component provided by the embodiment of the present application; wherein, Figure 3a shows a schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer is located in the first region; Figure 3b shows a schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer is located in the region between the first region and the second region; Figure 3c shows a schematic diagram of the charge distribution in the power generation component when the second friction layer is located in the second region. Please refer to Figures 3a to 3c, the power generation component 110 includes a first electrode 111, a second electrode 112, a first friction layer 113, and a second friction layer 114; the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114 have different charge affinities; the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 are arranged at intervals and are insulated and fixed to the inner wall of the second pipe 11; the first surface of the first friction layer 113 is insulated and fixed to the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112; the second friction layer 114 is further configured to slide from a first area on the second surface of the first friction layer 113 to a second area on the second surface of the first friction layer 113, and to slide from the second area to the first area under the action of the force applied by the flowing coolant, and at least part of the first area and the second area do not overlap; the first friction layer 113 is further configured to transfer charges with the second friction layer 114 when friction occurs with the second friction layer 114; the first electrode 111 is further configured to transfer charges with the second electrode 112 after the charge transfer between the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114, so as to maintain the charge balance in the power generation component 110; one end of the energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the first electrode 111, and the other end of the energy storage component 120 is electrically connected to the second electrode 112, and is configured to store the charges transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 to store electrical energy when charge transfer occurs between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112.

[0069] In an alternative manner, materials such as nylon, polyimide, polyethylene, or graphene are selected to make the first friction layer 113, so that the first friction layer 113 is an insulator with a high electronegativity, so that the first friction layer 113 is insulated from the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112; materials such as aluminum foil, copper foil, or gold foil are selected to make the second friction layer 114, so that the second friction layer 114 is a metal with a low electronegativity, so that the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114 have different charge affinities.

[0070] In another alternative manner, materials such as aluminum foil, copper foil, or gold foil are selected to make the first friction layer 113, so that the first friction layer 113 is a metal with a low electronegativity; materials such as nylon, polyimide, polyethylene, or graphene are selected to make the second friction layer 114, so that the second friction layer 114 is an insulator with a high electronegativity, so that the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114 have different charge affinities. Further, an insulating material (such as polyimide) is used to coat the first surface of the first friction layer 113 to insulate the first friction layer 113 from the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112.

[0071] In the embodiment of the present application, the first friction layer 113 is made of nylon material and the second friction layer 114 is made of aluminum foil material as an example for illustration.

[0072] When the second friction layer 114 slides on the first friction layer 113, a sliding friction occurs between the second friction layer 114 and the first friction layer 113. Since the aluminum foil of the second friction layer 114 is a metal with a low electronegativity and electrons in the metal are easy to move, while the nylon film of the second friction layer 114 is an insulator with a high electronegativity, during the friction process, the surface of the aluminum foil of the second friction layer 114 will lose electrons and become positively charged, and the nylon film of the second friction layer 114 may gain these electrons and become negatively charged. That is, triboelectrification occurs between the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114, and charge transfer takes place.

[0073] After charge transfer occurs between the first friction layer 113 and the second friction layer 114, the charge balance of the power generation component 110 is disrupted. To maintain the charge balance within the power generation component 110, under the drive of the potential difference, charge transfer occurs between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112.

[0074] Please refer to Figure 3a , when the second friction layer 114 rubs against the first friction layer 113 in the first region of the first friction layer 113 (such as Figure 3a the illustrated position), a large amount of negative charges accumulate on the first electrode 111, and a large amount of positive charges accumulate on the second electrode 112.

[0075] Please refer to Figure 3b , when the second friction layer 114 slides to Figure 3b the illustrated position, to maintain the charge balance within the power generation component 110, a large amount of negative charges on the first electrode 111 transfer to the second electrode 112, resulting in a situation where the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 become uncharged.

[0076] Please refer to Figure 3c , when the second friction layer 114 rubs against the first friction layer 113 in the second region of the first friction layer 113 (such as Figure 3c the illustrated position), to maintain the charge balance within the power generation component 110, a large amount of negative charges on the first electrode 111 transfer to the second electrode 112, causing a large amount of positive charges to accumulate on the first electrode 111 and a large amount of negative charges to accumulate on the second electrode 112.

[0077] Therefore, during the process of the second friction layer 114 sliding from the first region to the second region, a large amount of charge transfer occurs between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112, and the energy storage component 120 stores the charges transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 to store electrical energy. Among them, the energy storage component 120 includes multiple flexible aluminum-air batteries to store as much electrical energy as possible.

[0078] In an alternative manner, the first region and the second region do not overlap at all.Figure 4 The figure shows a schematic diagram of a first region and a second region on a first friction layer provided by an embodiment of the present application. Among them, the dashed box a on the first friction layer 113 corresponds to the first region, and the dashed box b on the first friction layer 113 corresponds to the second region. The length of the second friction layer 114 can be limited to less than half of the length of the first friction layer 113 to form the first region and the second region that do not overlap at all as shown in Figure 4 the figure.

[0079] By setting the first region and the second region not to overlap at all, when the second friction layer 114 is located in the first region and the second region, there is a large difference in the charges possessed by the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 to maintain charge balance, thereby increasing the amount of charge transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 during the sliding process of the second friction layer 114 and improving the power generation efficiency of the power generation component 110. For example, when the second friction layer 114 is located in the first region, as shown in Figure 3a the figure, a large amount of negative charges are collected on the first electrode 111, and a large amount of positive charges are collected on the second electrode 112; when the second friction layer 114 is located in the second region, as shown in Figure 3c the figure, a large amount of positive charges are collected on the first electrode 111, and a large amount of negative charges are collected on the second electrode 112. Therefore, when the second friction layer 114 slides from the first region to the second region, a large amount of charges are transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112.

[0080] Due to the irregular movement of the fluid, a component velocity perpendicular to the axis direction of the flow tube will be generated. That is, turbulent flow will occur in the flowing coolant. Among them, the basic characteristic of turbulent flow is the randomness of the movement of fluid microgroups. Turbulent microgroups not only have transverse pulsation but also have reverse movement relative to the total movement of the fluid. When turbulent flow appears in the flowing coolant, the coolant fluid can apply forces in multiple directions to the second friction layer 114, so that the second friction layer 114 can slide back and forth between the first region and the second region to achieve continuous power generation of the power generation component 110. Among them, the charge transfer during the process of the second friction layer 114 sliding back from the second region to the first region is similar to the process of the second friction layer 114 sliding from the first region to the second region, and will not be elaborated here.

[0081] In the embodiment of the present application, by arranging the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 at intervals and insulating and fixing them to the second pipeline 11, and insulating and fixing the first surface of the first friction layer 113 to the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112, it is possible to prevent the charges transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 from being acquired by the inner wall of the pipeline of the second pipeline 11 or the first friction layer 113, so that as many charges transferred between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 as possible can be acquired by the energy storage component 120, thereby improving the power generation efficiency of the power generation component 110; by fixing both the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 to the first surface of the first friction layer 113, the difficulty of arranging the wiring between the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 can be reduced, and by arranging and fixing the first electrode 111 and the second electrode 112 at intervals to the second pipeline 11, the stability of the power generation component 110 fixed to the inner wall of the pipeline of the second pipeline 11 can be increased.

[0082] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and they should all be covered by the scope of the claims and the description of the present application. In particular, as long as there is no structural conflict, the various technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way. The present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the text, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A pressure sensing unit, characterized in that: The pressure sensing unit is used to be fixed to the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipe of the liquid cooling device; the pressure sensing unit includes a power generation component, an energy storage component, a pressure sensing component and a signal processing component; the power generation component, the energy storage component, the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component are all wrapped inside the waterproof material; The power generation component is used to generate electrical energy under the action of the force exerted by the circulation of the coolant in the liquid cooling pipe; The energy storage component is electrically connected to the power generation component and is used to store the electric energy generated by the power generation component; The energy storage component is electrically connected to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component, and is used to provide electrical energy to the pressure sensing component and the signal processing component; The pressure sensing component is used to measure the liquid pressure of the coolant and generate a pressure analog signal based on the measured liquid pressure; The pressure sensing component is electrically connected to the signal processing component and is used to send the pressure simulation signal to the signal processing component; The signal processing component is used to communicate with the controller of the liquid cooling device, convert the pressure analog signal into a pressure digital signal, and send the pressure digital signal to the controller so that the controller controls the circulation of the cooling liquid based on the liquid pressure represented by the pressure digital signal.

2. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The liquid cooling device includes a valve and a first pipeline, the valve includes a second pipeline for circulating cooling liquid, the liquid cooling pipeline includes the first pipeline and the second pipeline of the liquid cooling device, and the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the second pipeline.

3. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The power generation component comprises a first electrode, a second electrode, a first friction layer and a second friction layer; the first friction layer and the second friction layer have different charge affinities; The first electrode and the second electrode are arranged at intervals and insulated and fixed to the inner wall of the second pipe; The first surface of the first friction layer is insulated and fixed to the first electrode and the second electrode; The second friction layer is also used to slide from a first area on the second surface of the first friction layer to a second area on the second surface of the first friction layer under the action of the force applied by the circulation of the coolant, and to slide from the second area to the first area, wherein the first area and the second area at least partially do not overlap; The first friction layer is also used to transfer charge with the second friction layer when friction occurs with the second friction layer; the first electrode is also used to transfer charge with the second electrode after the first friction layer transfers charge with the second friction layer, so as to maintain the charge balance in the power generation component; One end of the energy storage component is electrically connected to the first electrode, and the other end of the energy storage component is electrically connected to the second electrode, and is used to store the charge transferred between the first electrode and the second electrode to store electrical energy when charge transfer occurs between the first electrode and the second electrode.

4. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The first area does not overlap with the second area at all.

5. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of a second pipe horizontally arranged in the liquid cooling pipe; the first electrode and the second electrode are insulated and fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe, the energy storage component is fixed to the top of the inner wall of the second pipe, and the pressure sensing component is fixed to the bottom of the inner wall of the second pipe.

6. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second pipe is a hollow cylinder, the first electrode and the second electrode are both arc-shaped electrodes, and the inner radius of the hollow cylinder, the radius of the first electrode, and the radius of the second electrode are of the same length.

7. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer surfaces of the power generation component and the pressure sensing component are coated with a flexible waterproof film.

8. The pressure sensing unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: A display component is fixed to the outside of the liquid cooling device; the signal processing component is communicatively connected with the display component and is used to send the pressure digital signal to the display component so that the display component displays the liquid pressure based on the pressure digital signal.

9. A valve, characterized in that: The valve is used to be arranged in a liquid cooling device, and the valve comprises a pipeline for circulating cooling liquid and a pressure sensing unit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, and the pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the pipeline.

10. A liquid cooling device, characterized in that: The liquid cooling device comprises a liquid cooling pipeline, a controller and a pressure sensing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 8; The pressure sensing unit is fixed to the inner wall of the liquid cooling pipe; The controller is communicatively connected with the signal processing component of the pressure sensing unit, and is used to receive the pressure digital signal sent by the signal processing component, and control the circulation of the cooling liquid based on the liquid pressure represented by the pressure digital signal.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Liquid-based triboelectric generator, power generation method and sensor

    CN104467514B