Floating Liquid Cooling Connector for Tolerance-Misaligned Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of water cooling devices in electronic devices is challenging due to alignment and tolerance issues, leading to potential damage or failure from improper assembly, especially when connectors are fixed and cannot be adjusted.
Innovation Solution
A floating connector system with an elastic member and inclined ring portion that allows for slight angular adjustments, ensuring a tight fit without leakage, even with small size tolerances, by using a housing with an accommodating space and a floating module with a connector and elastic member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the connector is directly fixed in the housing without floating capability, then the assembly structure is simple, but the alignment and assembly difficulty increases due to tolerance issues
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is designed with floating capability through an elastic member that allows the connector to move dynamically within the housing. This dynamic structure enables automatic alignment and compensation for tolerance variations during assembly, making the assembly process easier while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic member allows the connector position to change within a certain range, providing parameter variability that accommodates tolerance issues. This parameter change capability enables the connector to self-align with the water pipe connector during assembly, reducing assembly difficulty.
2Manufacturing precision
If the connector allows floating and angular adjustment, then the alignment tolerance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating connector design allows the connector to move and adjust angularly within the housing through the elastic member. This dynamic adjustment capability provides alignment precision compensation for tolerance variations while keeping the structural complexity relatively low through simple elastic support.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector automatically performs alignment adjustment through its floating capability and inclined ring portion mechanism. The structure self-corrects alignment issues during assembly without requiring external adjustment mechanisms, thereby improving alignment precision while minimizing added complexity.
3Device complexity
If the connector is fixed without floating capability, then the device structure is simple, but the reliability decreases due to potential damage from improper assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic member provides beforehand cushioning by allowing the connector to float and absorb assembly errors before connection. This cushioning effect prevents damage from improper assembly while maintaining a simple connector structure, thereby improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating connector design introduces dynamic movement capability that allows the connector to adjust during assembly. This dynamic feature protects against assembly damage by accommodating misalignment and tolerance variations, improving reliability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the connector allows floating movement, then the adaptability to tolerance variations is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating connector design enables the connector to move dynamically within the housing, providing adaptability to tolerance variations in water pipe length and positioning. The elastic member supports this movement while keeping the overall structure relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector position and orientation parameters can change within a certain range due to the floating capability. This parameter variability provides adaptability to tolerance variations while maintaining simple structure through the use of a basic elastic support mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates easy assembly and alignment of water cooling systems, reducing the risk of damage and leakage, while minimizing overall size for efficient space utilization in electronic devices.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic member with two ends respectively abutting against the base and the housing is mounted around the positioning portion, so that when the elastic member is in an extended state, the inclined ring portion is supported against the inclined inner wall, and when the connector is pushed toward the perforation at the rear side of the accommodating and adjusting space to compress the elastic member
Data Source
AI summary
A floating connector for liquid cooling device includes a housing having an accommodating and adjusting space inside, an opening at the front side, a perforation at the rear side and an inclined inner wall therein adjacent to the opening; and a floating module including a connector having a docking portion positioned in the opening, a positioning portion positioned in the perforation, a base in the middle, a liquid flow channel extending through the docking portion, the base and the positioning portion and an inclined ring portion formed between the base and the docking portion, and an elastic member with two ends thereof respectively abutting the base and the housing mounted around the positioning portion, so that when the elastic member is in an extended state, the inclined ring portion is supported against the inclined inner wall.