US 12,193,193 B2 · Liquid pumping units, and related systems and methods

Abstract

A pump tray has a liquid pump with an inlet and outlet. A blindly matable liquid coupler fluidicly couples with the pump inlet and a blindly matable liquid coupler fluidicly couples with the pump outlet. A chassis of the pump tray has an alignment member configured to removably engage with another device and to restrict, to a limited number of degrees-of-freedom, movement of the chassis relative to the other device (e.g., a liquid pumping unit). The blindly matable liquid couplers are so physically coupled with the chassis as to inhibit movement of them relative to the chassis. A liquid pumping unit also has a chassis defining a bay configured to receive a pump tray, a liquid inlet coupler and a liquid outlet coupler, and a reservoir fluidicly coupled with the liquid inlet coupler. A blindly-matable liquid coupler fluidicly couples with the reservoir outlet and a blindly-matable liquid coupler fluidicly couples with the liquid outlet coupler. An alignment member is configured to removably engage with the pump tray and to restrict, to a limited number of degrees-of-freedom, movement of the pump tray relative to the chassis of the liquid pumping unit.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A hot-swappable pump tray for a coolant distribution unit, the hot-swappable pump tray comprising:

a chassis configured to slidably engage with a coolant distribution unit;
a pump having an inlet and an outlet, the pump being mountably affixed with the chassis;
a first blindly matable liquid coupler fluidically coupled with the pump inlet and mountably affixed with the chassis as to inhibit movement of the first blindly matable liquid coupler relative to the chassis;
a second blindly matable liquid coupler fluidically coupled with the pump outlet and mountably affixed with the chassis as to inhibit movement of the second blindly matable liquid coupler relative to the chassis;
and
a fastener configured to maintain alignment of the hot-swappable pump tray relative to, and to urge the hot-swappable pump tray into engagement with, the coolant distribution unit when the fastener is urged in a first direction, urging the first blindly matable liquid coupler to mate blindly with a corresponding coupler of the coolant distribution unit and urging the second blindly matable liquid coupler to mate blindly with another corresponding coupler of the coolant distribution unit.

3 more elements

A coolant distribution unit, comprising:

a chassis defining a bay configured to slidably receive a hot-swappable pump tray along an insertion axis, the chassis defining a recessed region configured to receive a corresponding portion of a fastener associated with the hot-swappable pump tray to maintain alignment of the hot-swappable pump tray along the insertion axis;
an inlet to receive coolant from a cooling loop and an outlet to return coolant to the cooling loop;
a first blindly-matable liquid coupler fluidically coupled with the inlet, the first blindly-matable liquid coupler being so configured relative to the bay as to be matable with a first complementary liquid coupler of the hot-swappable pump tray, thereby to fluidically couple the inlet with the a first complementary liquid coupler, when the hot-swappable pump tray urges along the insertion axis in a first direction;
a second blindly-matable liquid coupler fluidically coupled with the outlet, the second blindly-matable liquid coupler being so configured relative to the bay as to be matable with a second complementary liquid coupler of the hot-swappable pump tray, thereby to fluidically couple the outlet with the a second complementary liquid coupler, when the hot-swappable pump tray urges along the insertion axis in the first direction.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Liquid pumping units, and related systems and methods

Life of this patent

Liquid pumping units, and related systems and methods

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19