Sealed Liquid Connector Assembly for Server Cooling Leak Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid connector assemblies in server cooling systems are prone to liquid leakage and potential short circuits or burning when a valve plug fails, as the leaked liquid can escape and come into contact with server boards.
Innovation Solution
A liquid connector design featuring a sealing sleeve that moves between two states, allowing the connector body to be exposed or enclosed, with a sealing door that opens and closes an opening to direct any leakage into an internal space when not connected, preventing external leakage and allowing connection when needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a valve plug in the connector end fails, then liquid leakage occurs from the liquid outlet, but the connector assembly lacks a mechanism to contain the leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by pre-configuring a sealing sleeve and sealing door mechanism that automatically activates upon valve plug failure. The sealing door is positioned and designed to close the opening before liquid can leak externally, preventing the harmful effect of liquid spraying onto server boards while maintaining the integrity of the connector assembly
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing sleeve acts as an intermediary component between the connector body and the external environment. When the valve plug fails, the sealing door closes the opening, and the sealing sleeve contains any leaked liquid within its internal space, preventing direct contact between the leaked liquid and external components like server boards
2Ease of operation
If the connector end is disconnected to allow maintenance or replacement, then the connector body is exposed, but liquid can leak externally when valve plug fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the sealing sleeve movable along the insertion direction and the sealing door operable to open and close the opening. This dynamic configuration allows the connector to transition between connected and disconnected states while the sealing mechanism automatically adjusts to contain liquid internally when disconnected, preventing leakage without compromising pluggability
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing door is preliminarily positioned to close the opening when the connector is disconnected, and the sealing sleeve is preliminarily configured to enclose the connector body. This preliminary action ensures that if a valve plug fails during disconnection or maintenance operations, the liquid is already contained and cannot leak externally
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a sealing mechanism is added to contain liquid leakage, then liquid safety improves, but the connector structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the nested doll principle by placing the connector body inside the sealing sleeve, with the sealing door integrated into the sealing sleeve structure. This nested configuration contains the sealing mechanism within the existing connector assembly footprint, adding liquid containment functionality while minimizing increases in overall structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing sleeve functions as a flexible shell that can move along the insertion direction to accommodate connection and disconnection operations. This flexible shell design provides effective liquid containment through a relatively simple structural form, avoiding the need for complex rigid sealing mechanisms
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
This application provides a liquid connector, a liquid connector assembly (4), and a device interconnection system. The liquid connector includes: a fastening base (412); a connector body, fastened to the fastening base (412); a sealing sleeve (5), located on a side that is of the fastening base (412) and close to a front end of the connector body, where the sealing sleeve (5) is sleeved outside the connector body, a rear end of the sealing sleeve (5) is connected to the connector body in a sealed manner, an opening is disposed at a front end of the sealing sleeve (5), the sealing sleeve (5) can move between a first state and a second state in an insertion direction of the connector body relative to the fastening base (412), when the sealing sleeve (5) is in the first state, the sealing sleeve (5) is sleeved outside the front end of the connector body, and when the sealing sleeve (5) is in the second state, the front end of the connector body is exposed from the opening to the outside of the sealing sleeve (5); and a sealing door (6), disposed at the opening, and configured to: open the opening before the front end of the connector body is exposed from the opening to the outside of the sealing sleeve (5), and close the opening after the sealing sleeve (5) is sleeved outside the front end of the connector body.