Providing Connection Elements For Connecting Fluid Pipes To Carry Cooling Fluid In A System
A system has a housing and a rigid fluid pipe fixedly mounted inside the housing to carry cooling fluid, A first connection element is attached to an end portion of the rigid fluid pipe, and a heat-generating assembly is mounted inside the housing. The heat-generating assembly has a flexible fluid pipe. A second connection element is attached to an end portion of the flexible fluid pipe, where the first and second connection elements are removably connectable together and provide an automatic sealing mechanism when the first and second connection elements are disconnected.
In modern electronic systems, a relatively large amount of heat is generated due to operation of electronic devices in such systems. Various approaches have been used for cooling electronic devices of systems.
Traditionally, air flow generators, such as fans, are provided within a system to generate air flow for cooling electronic devices in the system. However, as operating speeds of electronic devices, such as microprocessors, have dramatically increased, the use of just air flow cooling techniques have generally not been sufficient for cooling electronic devices of certain types of systems, such as high-end computer servers, storage systems, or communications systems.
Enhanced cooling can be provided by provision of fluid pipes inside the chassis of a system, where the fluid pipes are used for carrying a cooling fluid. The challenge of employing fluid pipes within a system is that the fluid pipes may have to be routed to many different points inside the system. The presence of such pipes may make it difficult to access certain components in the system, such as to perform repair or replacement tasks. Also, during servicing, possible leakage of fluids from fluid pipes is also an issue when a component is disconnected and removed from the system,
Some embodiments of the invention are described, by way of example, with respect to the following figures:
The system depicted in
In the ensuing discussion, reference is also made to
In accordance with some embodiments, rigid fluid pipes are fixedly mounted inside the housing 100 of the system. A “rigid” fluid pipe refers to a fluid pipe formed of a relatively sturdy material that would make bending of the fluid pipe relatively difficult. For example, the rigid fluid pipe can be formed of a metal or plastic material. A “pipe” can be a generally cylindrical conduit or can be any other type of conduit having other geometries (e.g., rectangular cross-section, square cross-section, etc.). The fluid pipe has an inner longitudinal bore enclosed by the wall of the pipe, where the inner longitudinal bore is used for carrying cooling fluid.
In the example depicted in
The heat sink 104 of the heat-generating assembly 102 has various ports connected to respective flexible fluid pipes 118, 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128. A “flexible” fluid pipe is a pipe formed of a relatively soft elastic material that allows the flexible fluid pipe to be flexed or bent relatively easily. The ports of the heat sink 104 include input ports and output ports. An input port is to receive input cooling fluid for routing through the inner fluid passages of the heat sink 104, and the output ports are used for outputting heated cooling fluid for carrying such heated fluid away from the heat sink 104.
The flexible fluid pipes 118, 120, 122, 124, 126, and 128 are attached to the heat-generating assembly 102 such that the assembly 102 with the attached flexible fluid pipes can be mounted or dismounted from the system housing 100 as a unit. The flexible fluid pipes are easily manipulated by a user for ease of connection of the flexible fluid pipes to the corresponding rigid fluid pipes.
A heat exchanger 130 is also provided in the system housing 100. The heat exchanger 130 also has internal fluid passages (not shown) that are connected to corresponding fluid pipes, including flexible fluid pipes 116 and 152 (see
The flexible fluid pipes 116 and 152 connected to ports of the heat exchanger 130 are connected to respective rigid fluid pipes 111 and 113. Note that the heat exchanger 130 is another example of a heat-generating assembly that can be removably mounted in the system. The use of the flexible fluid pipes 116 and 152 attached to the heat exchanger 130 enables convenient connection of the heat exchanger 130 to the rigid pipes 111 and 113.
In accordance with some embodiments, quick-connect mechanisms 140 are provided for connecting each flexible fluid pipe to a corresponding fluid pipe. The quick-connect mechanism 140 includes a first connection element attached to an end portion of the rigid fluid pipe, and a second connection element attached to an end portion of the corresponding flexible fluid pipe. The quick-connect mechanism has a sealing element to automatically provide a fluid seal when the first and second connection elements are disconnected. The sealing element can be in the form of a valve (e.g., a ball valve that is released from a sealing position when the first and second connection elements are connected, but that is allowed, to move to a sealing position when the first and second connection elements are disconnected). The scaling elements of the quick-connect mechanisms allow for heat-generating assemblies to be disconnected from the rigid fluid pipes while reducing the likelihood of leaking cooling fluids.
A quick-connect mechanism is a connection mechanism that enables relatively easy snap-on connection and snap-off disconnection such that a user can connect or disconnect components without the use of tools. The flexible fluid pipes further enhance convenience when connecting or disconnecting since the flexible fluid pipes are easily manipulated when connecting the flexible fluid pipes to corresponding rigid pipes using the quick-connect mechanisms.
In operation, a user mounts the heat-generating assembly (102 or 130 in
In the disconnected position depicted in
Although the first connection element 204 is depicted as a female connection element, and the second connection element 206 is depicted as a male connection element, an alternative embodiment can implement the reverse, with the first connection element 204 implemented as a male connection element, whereas the second connection element 206 is implemented as a female connection element.
By employing the cooling assembly including flexible fluid pipes, rigid fluid pipes, and quick-connect mechanisms, in accordance with some embodiments, a solution is provided to enable easy installation or removal of heat-generating assemblies from a system housing, and to provide leak resistance when connecting/disconnecting fluid pipes.
In the foregoing description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom. It is intended that the appended claims cover such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A system comprising:
- a housing;
- a rigid fluid pipe fixedly mounted inside the housing to carry cooling fluid;
- a first connection element attached, to an end portion of the rigid fluid pipe;
- a heat-generating assembly mounted inside the housing, wherein the heat-generating assembly has a flexible fluid pipe; and
- a second, connection element attached to an end portion of the flexible fluid pipe, wherein the first and second connection elements are removably connectable together and provide an automatic sealing mechanism when the first and second connection elements are disconnected.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second connection elements form a fluid quick-connect mechanism.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first connection element has a sealing element to fluidically seal the end portion of the rigid fluid pipe upon disconnection of the second connection element from the first connection element.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the heat-generating assembly comprises an electronic device and a heat sink attached to the flexible fluid pipe.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the heat-generating assembly with the flexible fluid pipe is mountable in the housing as a unit, and wherein the flexible fluid pipe is arranged to enable manipulation for connecting the first and second connection elements.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the electronic device is thermally contacted to the heat sink, and wherein the heat sink has an internal fluid passage to receive cooling fluid from the flexible fluid pipe.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein the heat-generating assembly further has a second flexible fluid pipe, and the system farther comprises:
- a second rigid fluid pipe fixedly mounted inside the housing; and
- a connection mechanism for removably connecting the second flexible fluid pipe to the second rigid fluid pipe, wherein the second flexible fluid pipe is to carry heated cooling fluid away from the heat sink.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the heat-generating assembly is removably mounted in the system.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein the heat-generating assembly comprises a heat exchanger.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the heat exchanger includes heat fins and at least one fan to generate a flow of air across the fins.
11. A method of providing cooling a system having a housing, comprising:
- fixedly mounting a rigid fluid pipe inside the housing to carry a cooling fluid;
- mounting a heat-generating assembly inside the housing, wherein the heat-generating assembly has a flexible fluid pipe; and
- removably connecting the rigid fluid pipe to the flexible fluid pipe using a quick-connect mechanism, wherein the quick-connect mechanism has an automatic sealing mechanism to reduce likelihood of leakage of the cooling fluid upon disconnection of the quick-connect mechanism.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein removably mounting the heat-generating assembly inside the housing comprises removably mounting an assembly including a heat sink in an electronic device thermally contacted to the heat sink.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein removably mounting the heat-generating assembly comprises removably mounting a heat exchanger that includes heat fins and one or more fans.
14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
- fixedly mounting additional rigid fluid pipes inside the housing; and
- organizing locations of the rigid fluid pipes to enable convenient insertion and removal of the heat-generating assembly.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:
- providing additional flexible fluid pipes attached to the heat-generating assembly; and
- removably connecting the additional flexible fluid pipes to corresponding additional rigid fluid, pipes using respective quick-connect mechanisms.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 23, 2008
Publication Date: Jul 7, 2011
Inventors: Tyrell Kyle Kumlin (Calgary), Trentent Tye (Calgary), Troy Garrett Tye (Calgary), Mark C. Solomon (San Jose, CA)
Application Number: 13/063,932
International Classification: F28F 9/00 (20060101); F28F 13/00 (20060101);